Cardinal Rumors: 07/28/2022

Here are updated rumors from the last 24 hours. Let’s start with the one everyone is excited about…

Edmundo Sosa
The Cardinals are entertaining offers for Sosa, as they are ready to move on and bring Paul DeJong back up. Sosa has struggled this season, but Derrick Goold has reported that at least 1 AL team is interested in the shortstop. The return would probably not be very much, maybe a mid-level prospect. The alternative is to designate him for assignment and get nothing in return when he’s claimed on waivers.

Juan Soto
As mentioned yesterday, Nolan Gorman has moved to the centerpiece of the deal. There are rumors of a package of Gorman, Dylan Carlson, and Juan Yepez, but I don’t think that’s a big enough package for Soto. They’d have to include prospects as well; one of Jordan Walker and Masyn Winn, Alec Burleson, and probably a mid-level pitcher.

Personally, I don’t like dealing Carlson; with Bader down, you don’t have another true centerfielder on the roster. I’d see if I could switch out Carlson for Tyler O’Neill.

Adding Gorman to the deal adds another long-term issue for the Cardinals if they include Masyn Winn: who is the middle infield of the future? Tommy Edman has cemented his spot, but Gorman and Winn are the 2 best options in the system. Brendan Donovan is better suited to a utility role, DeJong can’t be considered a real option, and the upper levels of the system don’t have a lot.

As far as competition for Soto, Jeff Passan has heard the Padres are right there with the Cardinals; they have a lot of MLB-ready talent they can spare.

The Cardinals need to be careful about the players they could potentially trade; if the package gets too big, they’ll limit themselves on where they really need to upgrade…

Starting Pitching
The reports are still coming in that the Cardinals are also front runners for Frankie Montas and/or Luis Castillo according to Passan. This matched what Robert Murray reported by saying the team was looking for a higher impact acquisition then J.A. Happ or Jon Lester. Goold did note that the team was looking at rentals and long-term pieces for the rotation.

The Mariners and Yankees are also aggressively looking at the starting pitching market, with the Twins, Blue Jays, and Padres also interested. The Yankees will probably have first pick of these 2 pitchers; they had a scout watching Montas last night and probably had one in Cincinnati last night for Castillo.

The Dodgers, Braves, and Mets have also been tied to the pitchers in varying degrees.

The Cardinals should focus more on Montas then Castillo; the Reds will charge a premium to trade their ace within the division, especially when he’d be pitching for the Cardinals in 2023. The Cardinals could also try ton get Sean Murphy and/or a reliever in a deal for Montas.

Relief Pitching
The relief pitching rumor mill has essentially been dead and overshadowed by Soto rumors; that doesn’t mean we won’t see a couple of relievers come to the Cardinals. I don’t see the Cardinals getting a top name like David Robertson or Michael Fulmer, but I could see them getting in on some of the mid-level guys like Alex Colome or Lou Trivino.

Check back later for more updates.