Redbird Droppings: Trade Rumors Part 2
Redbird Droppings is shooting down more rumors, including trades with the Marlins, Rangers, and Tigers
I’m continuing to look at players that the Cardinals could be interested in based off the rumors that are out there. Part 1 featured Zach Eflin, Erick Fedde, Luis Robert Jr., Brent Rooker, Bryan De La Cruz, Randal Grichuk, Tommy Pham, Mark Canha, Connor Joe, and Kevin Pillar. This time I’ll focus on 5 more articles/players.
The Cardinals acquire 2B/CF Jazz Chisholm Jr. (Just Baseball) – Jazz is a solid player; he’s sporting a slash line of .256/325/.414 with 11 homers and 19 stolen bases. There are a couple of reasons to doubt this. First off, his splits are kind of funky; he hits better against lefties than righties, but with far less power. Teams might consider him an option at second base, but he hasn’t played the infield since 2022; as a centerfielder, he’s a below average fielder.
Cost might be an issue too; he’s going into arbitration and is under team control through 2027. A player like this, with 2 and 1/2 seasons of control, will not be cheap; the Marlin’s don’t need to trade him. They’ll want young players back, so Victor Scott II and Jordan Walker will be asked about. They’d probably also ask for some pitching. This could cause flash backs for Cardinals fans.
The Cardinals acquire LHP Jesus Luzardo (Fansided) – I could get behind this one, if he were healthy. Luzardo would be an upgrade for the rotation, even if his 2024 numbers are down compared to the previous year. Many consider him an ace, even with his 5.00 ERA; home runs have been an issue for him, but Busch Stadium would help with that. The issue is the health; he’s been out for over a month with a back issue and is on the 60-day IL, meaning he can’t return until mid-August.
The Marlins would ask for a haul, since, like Chisholm, Luzardo is under contract through 2027. Fansided listed Scott II, Tekoah Roby, Zack Showalter, and Chen-Wei Lin as a potential package. First off, the Cardinals value their prospects too much to make this deal; Scott II is the “centerfielder of the future” while Roby and Showalter has promise. And, as mentioned above, Cardinal fans would not want to see more prospects develop into All Stars in Miami. The package mentioned would be more in line with acquiring both Luzardo and Chisholm.
The Cardinals acquire RHP Tanner Scott (Fansided) – Scott would give the Cardinals a great 1-2 punch in the bullpen with Ryan Helsley, but does this really make sense for the team? The Cardinals need a starter and a right-handed hitting outfielder before adding another teams closer; they are more likely to add a setup guy are 2 for the ‘pen after addressing other issues, unless that closer were part of a package.
The proposed Thomas Saggese and Brycen Mautz is a high cost for a rental. Saggese was one of those young guys to watch after spring training and the team needs some better MLB bench depth than Jose Fermin, Brandon Crawford, and Matt Carpenter; the team would miss Saggese next year. Mautz might not develop as the team hoped when they drafted him, but he could still turn into a nice lefty reliever in the long run.
The Cardinals acquire RHPs Max Scherzer and Kirby Yates (Redbird Rants) – This is a pipe dream; everyone wants to see Scherzer come home and pitch, but does he really want to? Does he feel spurned by the team after they didn’t make him an offer when he was a free agent? Does he want to finish with a wild card bound team or does he want to go to a real contender?
I want Scherzer as much as the next guy; adding Yates in makes the deal even sweeter. RR proposes a deal of the 2 righties for Dylan Carlson, Adam Kloffenstein, and Luken Baker. It might seem like a bit for 2 rentals, but Carlson has fallen out of favor with the front office and the other 2 are pretty much blocked. The deal would make even more sense if the Cardinals were to pull of a deal for a centerfielder.
The Cardinals acquire RHP Jack Flaherty (BVM Sports) – Another one that will never happen. I like Flaherty and he’s pitching very well this season (I saw him in person a few weeks ago and he looked like Flaherty of 2019 in that start); the Cardinals have been there and done that, so I don’t see them bringing him back a year after trading him away. And I don’t want to hear from that segment of the fanbase calling for his head again because he’s “woke”.
The writer proposes a deal of catcher Leonardo Bernal and outfielder Lin; this is a deal that makes sense for both sides. The Cardinals would get a solid pitcher, while the Tigers would take 2 lottery tickets (Lin is a little bit of a higher upside lottery ticket). I also think a one-up swap of Flaherty for Ivan Herrera could do the trick too, if the Tigers want to get a long-term catcher who’s ready to step in.
That’s it for this week; I’ll be back next week with more rumors to shoot down.
