Cardinal Rumors: 08/02/2022 Deadline Day

Here are the rumors for the last 24 hours, along with the deals made that will impact the Cardinals. I’ll be updating this throughout the day.

Update: 3:45 PM: The Padres are sending prospect Victor Acosta (IF) to the Reds for Drury.

Update 3:35 PM: The Padres are picking up Brandon Drury from the Reds; no word on what the Reds are receiving yet.

Update: 3:15 PM: Logan O’Hoppe (C) is heading to the Angels for Marsh.

Update: 3:00 PM: The Phillies are acquiring David Robertson (RHP) from the Cubs for prospect Ben Brown (RHP). They are also acquiring Brandon Marsh (OF) for an unknown return.

The Twins are acquiring Tyler Mahle (RHP) from the Reds for Spencer Steer (IF), Christian Encarnacion-Strand (IF), and Steven Hajjar (LHP).

The Giants sent Darin Ruf (OF) to the Mets for J.D. Davis (3B).

Luke Voit appears to be replacing Hosmer in the Soto deal between San Diego and Washington.

Update: 1:35 PM: Hosmer is headed to the Red Sox; it hasn’t been announced who is going back to the Padres.

Update: 1:25 PM: The Dodgers are acquiring Joey Gallo (OF) from the Yankees; prospect Clayton Beeter (RHP) is head back to New York. Deal is not complete yet.

The Soto deal is still being worked out.

Update: 12:45 PM: The Marlins are trading Zach Pop (RHP) and Anthony Bass (RHP) to the Blue Jays; Jordan Groshans (IF) is being named as a potential return for the Marlins.

Update: 11:59 AM: The deal is being changed; Hosmer is not waiving his no trade clause…he’s said to be unhappy that he’s going from a contender to a rebuild.

Update: 11:08 AM: The Padres are sending Eric Hosmer (1B) in the deal, pending his approval; the Nationals are on his 10-team no trade list.

Update: 10:48 AM: The deal to the Padres is done; Soto and Bell to the Padres for pitcher MacKenzie Gore, shortstop C.J. Abrams, top outfield prospect Robert Hassell III, right-hander Jarlin Susana, top outfield prospect James Wood, and another Major Leaguer. The package rumored from the Cardinals would have topped this.

Juan Soto
The belief right now is the Padres are in the lead because they are targeting Soto and Josh Bell; that’ll up their offer. The Cardinals appear to be on the outside looking it at this point; the team is unwilling to part with Dylan Carlson and top prospects, specifically Jordan Walker. I can’t blame them. Carlson is the only backup we have in centerfield and both Harrison Bader and Tyler O’Neill have injury histories. As for the prospects, John Mozeliak acknowledged recently that the Cardinals are a prospect driven organization since they are in the bottom third in market size (both population and TV market); trading a talent like Walker or Masyn Winn sets back the organization, especially in a situation where the player acquired is unlikely to stay past his current commitment.

The Dodgers were the front runner at one point yesterday; they don’t need Soto, but they definitely want to keep him out of San Diego. The Yankees have also been linked to him as well, but their interest is mild.

Starting Pitching
The Cardinals are still checking on pitching, even after acquiring Jose Quintana and Chris Stratton yesterday. The team is tied to Noah Syndergaard still, but interest might be slim since they’ve already traded for a rental; the Phillies, Blue Jays, and Braves are all interested as well.

The Cardinals have started to show interest in Carlos Rodon, who might also be a rental depending on his opt out clause; if the Cardinals were to deal with the Giants, they’d probably want assurances that Rodon will not opt out after the season. He might be the best option for the team if they can get that guarantee.

The other top arms are Pablo Lopez, Zach Plesac, and Tyler Mahle; all are under team control and put up solid numbers (although Mahle’s ERA isn’t the greatest this season; that would change on a contender with a good defense). Of the 3, Lopez might cost the least; Plesac is on a contender and they’ll want MLB pieces back and Mahle is within the division, so the Reds would probably want more then they’d ask from other teams.

Nathan Eovaldi and Drew Smyly are also options but not as appealing. Eovaldi has injury problems in the past and who know what the Red Sox are doing. Smyly is a rental and not a longer term piece the Cardinals are looking for.

Tarik Skubal is out for now; he left his start yesterday and the Tigers have pulled him off the market.

Relief Pitching
The relief market hasn’t been mentioned very much with the Cardinals, but they could still use an upgrade or 2, especially since Johan Oviedo was dealt to the Pirates. The Tigers’ Joe Jimenez, Gregory Soto, Michael Fulmer, and Andrew Chafin are available; the price for Jimenez and Soto is high, so they’re probably out for the Cardinals. The Rangers are putting Matt Moore out there.

Catcher
Catcher is the other place the Cardinals really need help, but they haven’t been linked to any of the catchers on the market.

The Moves
Here’s the major moves of the last week or so. I’ve noted prospect rankings for their former team, if applicable; this gives an idea of what the Cardinals would have had to give up in a similar deal.

• The Padres acquired Juan Soto (OF) and Josh Bell (1B) from the Nationals for MacKenzie Gore (RHP), Eric Hosmer (1B), C.J. Abrams (SS), Robert Hassell III (OF), Jarlin Susana (RHP) and James Wood (OF).
• The Twins acquired Jorge Lopez (RHP) from the Orioles for Cade Povich (LHP), Yennier Cano (RHP), Juan Nunez (RHP), and Juan Rojas (LHP).
• The Braves acquired Jake Odorizzi (RHP) from the Astros for Will Smith (LHP).
• The Braves acquired Robbie Grossman (OF) from the Tigers for Kris Anglin (RHP).
• The Brewers acquired Matt Bush (RHP) from the Rangers for Mark Mathias (IF) and Antoine Kelly (LHP, Brewers #7).
• The Giants acquired Ford Proctor (C/IF) from the Rays for Jeremy Walker (RHP).
• The Royals acquired Luke Weaver (RHP) from the Diamondbacks for Emmanuel Rivera (IF).
• The Astros acquired Christian Vazquez (C) from the Red Sox for Enmanuel Valdez (IF, Astros #12) and Wilyer Abreu (OF, Astros #21).
• The Red Sox acquired Tommy Pham (OF) from the Reds for a PTBNL or Cash.
• The White Sox acquired Jake Diekman (LHP) from the Red Sox for Reese McGuire (C).
• The Astros acquired Trey Mancini (1B) from the Orioles and Jayden Murray from the Rays (RHP); the Rays acquired Jose Siri (OF) from the Astros; the Orioles acquire Seth Johnson (RHP, Rays #10) from the Rays and Chayce McDermott (RHP, Astros #6) from the Astros.
• The Yankees acquired Frankie Montas (RHP) and Lou Trivino (RHP) from the Athletics for J.P. Sears (RHP, Yankees #20), Ken Waldichuk (LHP, Yankees #5), Luis Medina (RHP, Yankees #11), and Cooper Bowman (2B).
• The Padres acquired Josh Hader (LHP) from the Brewers for Taylor Rogers (LHP), Dinelson Lamet (RHP), Robert Gasser (RHP), and Esteury Ruiz (OF).
• The Rays acquired Garrett Cleavinger (LHP) from the Dodgers for German Tapia (OF).
• The Yankees acquired Scott Effross (RHP) from the Cubs for Hayden Wesneski (RHP, Yankees #4).
• The Braves acquired Ehire Adrianza (IF) from the Nationals for Trey Harris (OF).
• The Rays acquired David Peralta (OF) from the Diamondbacks for Christian Cerda (C).
• The Dodgers acquired Chris Martin (RHP) from the Cubs for Zach McKinstry (IF).
• The Mariners acquired Luis Castillo (RHP) from the Reds for Noelvi Marte (IF, Mariners #1), Edwin Arroyo (IF, Mariners #2), Levi Stoudt (RHP, Mariners #10), and Andrew Moore (RHP, Mariners #26).
• The Mets acquired Tyler Naquin (OF) and Phillip Diehl (RHP) from the Reds for Jose Acuna (RHP) and Hector Rodriguez (2B, Mets #30).
• The Yankees acquired Andrew Benintendi (OF) from the Royals for Beck Way (RHP, Yankees #13), T.J. Sikkema (RHP), and Chandler Champlain (RHP).