Cardinals: 1 trade to make, 1 trade to avoid
By John Buhler
The St. Louis Cardinals are running out of time to get things right ahead of the trade deadline.
Things have to change quickly if the St. Louis Cardinals went to get back into the postseason mix.
The Cardinals have unfortunately played some terrible baseball of late. They have lost nine of their last 10 games. This has them just below .500 on the year at 32-33 heading into their home series vs. the New York Mets. St. Louis finds itself six games back of the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central race. They have to make a big move here soon or they will be sellers.
Here is one more the Cardinals can make to bolster their struggling starting rotation, as well as one move they need to avoid making all together to address the issue at hand.
St. Louis Cardinals: 1 trade to make, 1 trade to avoid ahead of the deadline
It is worth it to get Max Scherzer on a rental to make up ground in the NL Central
Any team who trades for Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer should do so with a few big things in mind. One, he is likely only going to be a rental, as he will be a free agent this winter. Two, trading for him will require a handful of top prospects going Washington’s way. And three, if he really likes where he is traded to, there is a chance he could finish his career with this new team.
Regardless of the health of the St. Louis farm system, trading for Scherzer would be worth it for the Cardinals, even if he is going from one National League team to another. He becomes the staff’s bona fide ace with Jack Flaherty working his way back from injury. St. Louis is historically a stand-up franchise when it comes to October. Plus, he can make up ground in the NL Central.
By having Scherzer out there every fifth day, it is a medium-term play for the Cardinals to catch the Cubs or the Brewers in the NL Central standings. The 37-year-old right-hander is still one of the best pitchers in baseball. There is a chance he may not lose a start if he joins the Cardinals rotation. He also grew up in the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield and played at Missouri in college.
While trading for Scherzer would be wonderful, St. Louis cannot cut corners to fix the rotation.