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Cardinals: 3 trades to replace Jack Flaherty if injury is serious

By Miranda Remaklus

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JUNE 21: Jack Flaherty #22 of the St. Louis Cardinals throws a pitch in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on June 21, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Cardinals defeated the Brewers 6-2. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JUNE 21: Jack Flaherty #22 of the St. Louis Cardinals throws a pitch in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on June 21, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Cardinals defeated the Brewers 6-2. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 23: Frankie Montas #47 of the Oakland Athletics pitches against the Seattle Mariners in the top of the first inning at RingCentral Coliseum on June 23, 2022 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 23: Frankie Montas #47 of the Oakland Athletics pitches against the Seattle Mariners in the top of the first inning at RingCentral Coliseum on June 23, 2022 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Cardinals could trade for Frankie Montas

Frankie Montas has been a part of Cardinal fans’ wish list since it was apparent pitching was going to be needed this season. Montas is expected to get the Oakland Athletics a haul in return for a trade.

Montas is currently getting paid $5 million this season and will have another year of arbitration eligibility in 2023 before becoming a free agent in 2024. He is currently 3-7 in 15 games started. Over 89.2 innings, Montas has a 3.21 ERA with 22 walks and 92 strikeouts. He has a ground ball rate of 48.1% but is surrounded by a young team. Imagine him with the Cardinals Gold Glove defense behind him. He could have fantastic results.

It doesn’t seem feasible the Cardinals would package Nolan Gorman and Matthew Liberatore, but it would be interesting to see them package Luken Baker and Freddy Pacheco for Montas.

Baker was drafted by the Cardinals in the 2018 draft out of Texas Christian University. He plays first base and is a designated hitter. While an amazing athlete with massive power, he’s seemingly blocked in the Cardinals organization.

Baker is hitting .230/.286/.425 with an OPS of .711. The kid can launch a home run and it would be amazing to see him do so at Busch Stadium with the Cardinals. But, that seems out of the realm of possibility.  This season he’s hit eight doubles, 12 home runs, and 32 RBI.

Pacheco is a 24-year-old righty who had been at Double-A to begin the minor league season and was recently moved up to Triple-A. At Double-A Springfield he was 1-5 with eight saves in 28.1 innings over 24 games. He had 41 strikeouts. At Triple-A, he has a save in one inning of work, striking out one.

Definitely an exciting young athlete, Pacheco could be an interesting, late-innings arm.

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