MLB Trade Rumors: 3 quality trade deadline targets for St. Louis Cardinals
By Mike Luciano
The St. Louis Cardinals need to swing for the fences in August
Even in an MLB season that is only going to be 60 games long, the St. Louis Cardinals are once again near the top of everyone’s hypothetical “dark horse contenders” lists. Despite having several glaring holes on the roster at key positions, the Cardinals always seem to make a little magic at precisely the right time and set themselves up for a deep October run.
Part of the reason St. Louis is always around in October is the fact that their front office usually nails it at the trade deadline, knowing when to make minor tweaks and when to go big while also showing restraint when it comes to pulling off riskier deals. If the Cardinals are in a position to contend in 2020, which they should be, these three players would make sizable impacts if they were traded to St. Louis, as they would provide them with an extra dose of pop in the lineup or more gas out of the bullpen.
OF/DH. Jay Bruce. 3. 6. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Philadelphia Phillies. player
Bruce played in just 98 games last year, but the three-time All-Star and now 33-year-old veteran proved that there is still a spot for him in the majors, as he clubbed 26 home runs for the Mariners and Phillies. With the universal DH now giving National League teams the ability to put one more power hitter in their lineup, Bruce and his 312 home runs just became much more valuable, as normally his poor defense would make it hard to justify giving up tons of young prospects for him.
While the Phillies might scoff at the idea of giving up their newly-minted DH, the Cardinals greasing Philly’s palms with a few prospects in Single-A or Double-A might be enough to totally flip the script and convince Philadelphia to send Bruce to the midwest.
Doing so would not take at-bats away from promising young players like Tyler O’Neill or Harrison Bader, but it would give a Cardinals lineup that didn’t do much to replace Marcell Ozuna an experienced thumper that should be able to blast a few clutch home runs for St. Louis once the calendar flips to October.