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1 trade the St. Louis Cardinals should already be considering

By Steven Kubitza

JUPITER, FL - MARCH 07: Manager Mike Shildt #8 of the St. Louis Cardinals takes the baseball from Matthew Liberatore #52 during a pitching change during the fifth inning of the Spring Training game against the Houston Astros at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on March 7, 2021 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)
JUPITER, FL - MARCH 07: Manager Mike Shildt #8 of the St. Louis Cardinals takes the baseball from Matthew Liberatore #52 during a pitching change during the fifth inning of the Spring Training game against the Houston Astros at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on March 7, 2021 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) /
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The Cardinals should be thinking about trying to add another starting pitcher via the trade market.

The St. Louis Cardinals have a winning record of 5-4 so far early into the 2021 MLB season. However, the team has already allowed 49 runs and all four regular starters have been roughed up early.

Veteran Adam Wainwright has lasted a combined total of 7.2 innings in two starts, while Daniel Ponce de Leon has made it a total of 6.1 innings in two starts. The offense coming through on days when the pitching has indeed been solid is why this team has five wins so far.

It is still early and the Cardinals have talent in the rotation. However, it never hurts to add more if a World Series title is the expectation. That is why the team should be considering a trade for Detroit Tigers southpaw Matthew Boyd.

Cardinals should looking into a trade for Matthew Boyd

Boyd is an interesting player. He is 30 years old and pitching on a Tigers team that is still up and coming in a rebuilding phase. Boyd has one more year of arbitration in 2022 before hitting free agency and that means he is more than just a rental.

The southpaw is not in Detroit’s long-term plans. That makes him an obvious trade candidate.

Boyd was the Tigers’ Opening Day starter and got the win over Shane Bieber. So far in two starts he has only allowed three earned runs in 12.2 innings and has 10 total strikeouts.

This is not a trade that immediately makes the Cardinals a supremely better team. But Boyd did post an 11.6 K/9 in 2019 before some rough stats in 2020. However, 2020 stats are in a world of their own.

Boyd could stick at the end of the St. Louis rotation and provide a veteran presence and also a left-handed arm to the mix.

The Tigers have no reason to hold onto Boyd if they have younger pitchers they want to get on the field this season. The Cardinals actively could use another pitcher with Miles Mikolas out and could also shift Carlos Martinez back to the bullpen if they have a surplus of starters.

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