Cardinals: 3 untouchable players in a Juan Soto trade
By Eric Treuden
The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the reported teams interesting in trading for Juan Soto. Let’s take a look at 3 untouchable players on the roster.
With news coming out that the Washington Nationals are set to place Juan Soto on the trade market, a number of potential suitors immediately came to light.
One of those potential clubs is the St. Louis Cardinals, who have the prospect depth to trade for Soto and the funds to lock him up to a post-trade extension as well. Landing Soto and putting him in a lineup featuring Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and budding stars like Tommy Edman and Dylan Carlson is borderline unfair.
The Washington #Nats have begun fielding preliminary offers for Juan Soto, with seven teams already weighing in, including 3 in the NL West:#Mariners#Padres#SFGiants#Dodgers#STLCards#Yankees#Mets.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 21, 2022
The trade deadline is Aug. 2, but Nats will wait unless get the right deal
Cardinals: 3 untouchables in a potential Juan Soto trade
3. Catcher Iván Herrera
22-year-old Iván Herrera, the No. 3 prospect in the Cardinals system, is likely to be a piece that is sought after by the Nationals in a potential Soto trade. The Cardinals should do everything they can to form a trade without Herrera’s inclusion, as he is the future behind the plate for this club after Yadier Molina calls it quits.
Herrera got his first look in the big leagues this year in the form of an 11-game cameo, but he managed just two hits in 22 at-bats, good for a .111 batting average.
In the minor leagues, though, Herrera has been a very solid bat and reportedly has made strides defensively and will only get better with age and additional experience. It goes without saying, though, that he will probably never reach Molina’s level of defensive prowess but then again, who can?
The young backstop cracked Keith Law’s Top 100 prospects list entering 2022 (coming in at No. 75 in the game) and is coming off of a season in which he hit 17 home runs, drew 60 walks in 99 games, and caught 26% of would-be base stealers. While he has thrown out just 18% of base stealers this season, he has made just a single error in over 300 innings at catcher this season.
The Nationals do have Keibert Ruiz behind the plate already as a young catcher that they view as a long-term piece but Herrera will surely be targeted in a potential Soto trade. The Cardinals should do everything they can to hold on to him as he is the future at catcher for them.