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MLB Trade Deadline: 5 players Cardinals should trade for

By Parker Hurley

Jul 1, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Aledmys Diaz (36) fields a ground ball hit by Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Jonathan Villar (not pictured) during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 1, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Aledmys Diaz (36) fields a ground ball hit by Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Jonathan Villar (not pictured) during the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aroldis Chapman
Jun 18, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (54) pitches to the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning at Target Field. The Yankees win 7-6. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Aroldis Chapman

Chapman has baggage that may not make him a fit in St. Louis, especially if the Yankees are asking for a significant return. However, in a baseball sense, Chapman is a great fit for the Cards.

After serving a 30-game suspension this season, Chapman has come back to appear in 25 games, posting a 2.74 ERA. For the Yankees to go straight to Chapman as their closer over Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances shows how valuable he can be.

The thing that the Cardinals need more than anything is a reliable closer. Trevor Rosenthal has a 5.4 ERA this season and has blown three saves. He already lost his closer job to Seung-Hwan Oh but Oh was brought in to be the setup man. Adding Chapman gives them back their one-two punch.

Most teams looking for relief will be gunning for Andrew Miller instead of Chapman. Add that into Chapman’s off of the field problems and he should be able to be had for cheaper than expected.

He is a free agent again after this season. The Cardinals do not necessarily have to lock into Chapman and all of his baggage. They should know what Chapman offers, facing him while he was on the Reds from 2010-2015. What they should know is that the Reds bullpen was lock down for that time period and that they can add the reason why to their team this summer.

Next: 3. Andrew Miller

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