STL Cardinals Rumors: Sell-high trade asset, top prospect concern, superstar trade target

STL Cardinals Rumors: Dylan Cease trade in play if White Sox take offers

Speaking of the long-term outlook for the Cardinals rotation, it’s something that St. Louis could potentially — and most likely — address ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline.

Yes, if the Cards hope to continue erasing their early-season struggles and contend to win the NL Central, they will need to improve their starting pitching overall. However, with only Miles Mikolas, Matz and Liberatore with any kind of track record in the majors under contract beyond this season, they also need to try and find an asset that can help them after this year as well.

The good news for St. Louis is that they’re already being connected to perhaps the best option on the trade market to do that by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal: White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease.

At 12 games below .500, it’s all but certain that Chicago is going to be selling majorly at the trade deadline. The big question is if they would be willing to part with last season’s AL Cy Young runner-up or if that’s an untouchable asset for them.

From the Cardinals’ perspective, though, if there’s an inkling of a chance that they could land the mustachioed hurler, they have to jump on it. Not only has Cease proven that he can pitch at a truly elite level at just 27 years old, but he still has two more club-controlled years of arbitration left before hitting free agency, which would give St. Louis far more flexibility with an ace moving forward.

If that weren’t enough, the richness of the Cardinals farm system puts them in arguably as good of a position as any potential trade deadline buyer to have the ammunition to make a move for Dylan Cease. It really seems as if the dominoes are perfectly aligned for the club to make this type of blockbuster move.

Now we’ll see if John Mozeliak has the guts to make it happen — assuming that the White Sox will budge on the righty.