Cardinals: 3 trade deadline surprises that could await St. Louis front office
By Tim Boyle
The St. Louis Cardinals could be in for some surprises at this year’s MLB trade deadline.
The St. Louis Cardinals are in a tight race with the Milwaukee Brewers for National League Central supremacy. Two teams enter, one will walk out with a playoff berth as the other hopes to have enough wins for a wild card berth. This week’s MLB Power Rankings place them ahead of the Brewers but a bad series can change everything.
The Cardinals have a club certainly built to go far this year. The upcoming trade deadline is where they can fix a few of their issues.
A part of what makes the trade deadline so exciting are the surprises. The Cardinals, who once again find themselves in a position to buy, will have plenty of them in the next couple of weeks.
1) Cardinals trade deadline surprise: A bidding war for an outfielder
The Cardinals outfielders haven’t had a particularly good season in 2022. The main trio of Tyler O’Neill, Harrison Bader, and Dylan Carlson have combined to be far more average than even slightly above it. They have minimal power and batting averages that leave a lot to be desired.
With O’Neill missing significant time already this season and back on the IL with a hamstring injury, it’s not outrageous to expect the Cardinals to get involved in a bidding war for an outfielder.
The Cardinals even have the luxury of adding an outfielder who isn’t all that great of a defender for regular DH duties. As much as it appears the team will roll with Albert Pujols in this role often, they could greatly benefit from a left-handed-hitting option to pair with him.
The smarter move would be to get a guy who can play the field regularly enough. Uncertainty about O’Neill’s health plus the struggles from Bader and Carlson should have them looking at someone to add to the starting lineup while moving one of those guys to the bench.
Inserting left-handed hitter Andrew Benintendi into this righty-heavy lineup could definitely help.