MLB rumors: 3 Tarik Skubal trade packages to land the Tigers starter
By Tim Boyle
2. MLB rumors: A St. Louis Cardinals trade package for Tarik Skubal
Maybe even more than the Braves, the St. Louis Cardinals need another arm. Preferably, it should be a young one, too. This is Adam Wainwright’s last year anyway. It couldn’t hurt them to have another guy within the organization take his roster spot.
With a strong focus on this year, Skubal also makes sense for St. Louis. Maybe this trade helps get it done.
The Tigers might like this deal a little bit more. Gordon Graceffo is a top 100 prospect (ranked 99) and Alec Burleson and Julio E. Rodriguez aren’t so bad either. Within the Cardinals organization, they rank eighth and eighth. Graceffo is a pitcher, Burleson is an outfielder, and Rodriguez is a catcher. It’s not impossible to imagine all three on the Tigers roster as soon as next year.
Burleson might be the hardest for the Cardinals to part with right now. The power-hitting outfielder is having an awesome year in Triple-A. He hit 17 home runs in his first 351 plate appearances this season all while slashing .339/.379/.554. It’s not an outlier performance either. He slugged 22 home runs last season.
To sweeten the deal for the Cardinals, including Michael Fulmer in the trade could be an addition to get the deal done. It could possibly even convince the Cardinals to throw in another prospect or make one of the three they include a much better one.