Cardinals Trade Rumors 07/27/2023: Tommy Edman, Other Deals

The Cardinals have a quiet rumor day.

The Dodgers and Angels indirectly impact future rumors though.

A pretty quiet day for Cardinal rumors, although other pieces started to move which will impact the team.

The Rumors
The “No-Trade” list is growing. We already have Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Lars Nootbaar, Tyler O’Neill, and Jordan Walker on it; we can now add Tommy Edman according to Derrick Goold (I can’t find the source now; it might have been behind a paywall on STL Today). For a team of sellers, the Cardinals aren’t willing to listen on anything that could net a huge return.

Elsewhere in the league…
There were 2 trades that impacted the Cardinals indirectly yesterday.

The first was the Dodgers acquiring SS Amed Rosario and some cash from the Guardians for RHP Noah Syndergaard; this comes a day after they acquired infielder Enrique Hernandez from the Red Sox. This could take the Dodgers out of the infield market; they were linked previously to Arenado (although they’d probably still like to acquire him) and, more importantly, Paul DeJong. DeJong would fill their need for a true shortstop that’s not a long-term commitment.

The second trade was the Angels acquiring RHPs Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the White Sox for prospects Edgar Quero (C) and Ky Bush (LHP). This one impacts the Cardinals in multiple ways.

First, it means they are buyers and Shohei Ohtani is officially off the market; not that the Cardinals would have made a play for Ohtani, but with him staying put, teams will start to focus elsewhere. The Orioles, Rays, and Braves have been tagged to the Angels.

Second, they probably won’t be looking to add another starter/reliever duo; Giolito will go right into the rotation while Lopez has been a reliever this season (fun fact: they both came to the White Sox from the Nationals for Adam Eaton). There is still a possibility that they could add one or the other, but that limits the return the Cardinals could see.

Finally, the Angels gave up 2 good prospects for a starter and reliever, both free agents at the end of the season. As Ben Cerutti mentions on Twitter, Giolito and Lopez are good comps for Jordan Montgomery and Chris Stratton in a trade package. Quero ranked #61 on Fangraphs’ Top 100 Prospect list, while Baseball America has him at #85. MLB had Quero 2nd in the Angels system, with Bush at #3.

Between this deal and the Braves acquiring Pierce Johnson for 2 pitching prospects, things might end up alright for the Cardinals if they only deal from pitching. It won’t get them an ace (including a Brendan Donovan, Dylan Carlson, or Nootbaar would be a must for a top pitcher), but will restock the system that doesn’t have much as far as elite pitching.

Goold, along with everyone else on the internet, talked about what is probably Jack Flaherty‘s last start as a Cardinal. With Ohtani off the market and Giolito already traded, we’ll probably start seeing his name pop up in more rumors.

Rumors Players
Here’s a list of guys and who they are tied to:

• Arenado: Dodgers
• Carlson: Yankees
• DeJong: Blue Jays, Brewers, Giants, Mariners
• Flaherty: Angels, Giants, Rays, Yankees
• Goldschmidt: Phillies
• Jordan Hicks: Dodgers, Giants
• Montgomery: Giants, Rays, Orioles
• Stratton: Giants
• Drew VerHagen: Giants

While we wait for deals to go down, check out the Cardinals Draft Tracker and their 2024 Spring Training and Regular Season schedules.