The St. Louis Cardinals are in the midst of an absolutely disastrous season that was confounded earlier this week by a humiliating walk-off loss to the Miami Marlins.
Despite defeating Miami 3-0 on Thursday, Oliver Marmol’s squad is 36-51 on the season and in last place in the National League Central.
The major issue here has been pitching with St. Louis boasting a 4.69 ERA, good for 25th in MLB. Of the Cardinals’ primary starters, only Jordan Montgomery boasts an ERA of 4.50 or lower.
According to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, this has led to the Cardinals listening to offers for some of their young position players. The insider notes that St. Louis has had conversations with the Seattle Mariners. However, young starter George Kirby has not been made available in trade talks.
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Young St. Louis Cardinals player who may be available
For a team in the Cardinals’ situation, it is surprising that veterans are not available ahead of the August MLB trade deadline. Rather, front office head John Mozeliak seems to believe that contention can be the name of the game in 2024 and beyond.
If St. Louis is indeed looking to move at least one of its young position players, former top-five prospect Jordan Walker might the most sense. The outfielder is hitting .286 with an .804 OPS in 47 games as a rookie. He could net the Cardinals the controllable young starter they are looking for ahead of the deadline.
Shortstop Masyn Winn is St. Louis’ top prospect according to MLB.com. Though, he’s currently in Triple-A and could be seen as the long-term replacement for Paul DeJong.
Either way, we’re not expecting the Cardinals to stand pat ahead of the trade deadline. The big move simply might be to add a young starter rather than move off veteran players.