3 most valuable Cardinals trade chips at the deadline if they sell

Cardinals could sell very high in the midst of Tyler O’Neill’s breakout season

Besides the starting rotation, another area that has hurt the Cardinals this year has been the outfield. While centerfielder Harrison Bader has had to deal with injuries, one player has flourished this year in his breakout season. That player would be left fielder Tyler O’Neill. With more regular playing time, he has become quite the trade asset for St. Louis, but should he be dealt, though?

O’Neill is slashing .276/.329/.558 on the year in a career-high 63 games for the Cardinals. The 26-year-old from Canada has set career-highs in many statistical categories including home runs (15), runs batted in (36), hits (60) and runs scored (36). Factor in that he took home a Gold Glove last year, and he could be a huge asset a contending team might want to add to their starting outfield.

The problem with dealing O’Neill is he will not be hitting free agency until 2025. He has three more years of arbitration let before he can walk away from St. Louis. Do the Cardinals want to part ways with an emerging all-around talent well before he turns 30-years-old? Yes, the Cardinals can get a ton for him, but one would think he would be the type of player they would want to build around.

While the Cardinals can get quite the offer for O’Neill, they do not need to trade him this summer.