Cardinals rumors: 3 assets St. Louis can trade for Xander Bogaerts
By Drew Koch
The Boston Red Sox may be forced to move on from Xander Bogaerts. If the St. Louis Cardinals were to pounce, what might it take to pry Bogaerts away from the Red Sox?
I don’t think this is how the Boston Red Sox envisioned their 2022 season beginning. After going to the American League Championship Series last season, the Red Sox are off to a horrendous start and are currently residing in the AL East cellar.
The New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays look like the class of the division this season, and while it’s still early, rumors are already beginning to swirl about Boston’s shortstop Xander Bogaerts being on the trade block.
A team that would make a perfect destination for the 29-year-old is the St. Louis Cardinals. The Redbirds recently sent longtime shortstop Paul DeJong to Triple-A Memphis and Edmundo Sosa is little more than a place-holder.
So, if the Cardinals were to look to trade for a talent as great as Bogaerts, it’s definitely going to cost a pretty penny. What assets might be in play in order for the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals to make a deal?
1. Cardinals prospect Jordan Walker could be an asset to trade for Xander Bogaerts
Would the St. Louis Cardinals give up their top prospect in order to land Xander Bogaerts? If they really want the three-time All-Star, they may have to. Bogaerts has an opt-out after the 2023 campaign.
In addition to three appearances in the Midsummer Classic, the Aruba native is four-time Silver Slugger Award-winner, and while he’s not an elite defender, Bogaerts can hold his own at shortstop.
The Cardinals already have Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado on the roster for the foreseeable future, so it would appear as though Jordan Walker is blocked at the major league level. The 19-year-old is still a couple of years away from making his big league debut, but Walker is currently playing at Double-A Springfield.
MLB Pipeline views Walker as a Top 100 prospect and the third-best third base prospect behind only Brett Baty (New York Mets) and Josh Jung (Texas Rangers). If the Cardinals are truly interested in trading for Xander Bogaerts, the Red Sox should first ask to include Jordan Walker in any potential deal.