St. Louis Cardinals: 3 trades to save the season
By John Buhler
Pick Analysis. Minnesota Twins. Jose Berrios. Scouting Report. RHP. 2. player. 2
Minnesota Twins ace Jose Berrios greatly improves rotation this year and next
We know that the Cardinals need to improve their awful rotation immediately. While doing so will hurt the top of the St. Louis farm system, it might be worth it to get a two-time AL All-Star that is not playing on an expiring contract. With the Minnesota Twins 11.5 games back in the AL Central standings, the Cardinals could look at adding their ace Jose Berrios in a massive blockbuster trade.
Like Gibson, Berrios came up through the Twins farm system and has had great success in Minnesota. He was an All-Star in the last two Midsummer Classics, and might be on his way to Denver this year. Berrios is 7-2 on the season in 15 starts with a 3.41 ERA and a 1.082 ERA in 89.2 innings pitched. As with Gibson, Berrios will not be hitting free agency until winter 2023.
There are many more upsides to trading for Berrios over Gibson. Berrios is several years younger, has had higher highs at the big-league level and still has one more year left of arbitration. Simply put, there is less variance in trading for Berrios over Gibson. However, doing so will absolutely cost the Cardinals Liberatore in the deal and then some. Then again, St. Louis would be adding an ace.
A Berrios trade improves the Cardinals rotation, but would completely decimate the farm system.