MLB Power Rankings: Best trade chip on every below .500 team’s roster
By Tim Boyle
10) MLB Power Rankings: St. Louis Cardinals, Jordan Montgomery
Jordan Montgomery is one of several St. Louis Cardinals pitchers having a disappointing year. Why is he their best trade chip? It’s probably because they don’t need to dismantle much from their roster. St. Louis needs to take this season on the chin and regroup for next season.
Montgomery is a free agent after the 2023 campaign which makes him an obvious trade candidate. It hasn’t been a particularly good year for him, though. He’s much less intriguing than he was last summer when the Cardinals acquired him from the New York Yankees for Harrison Bader. What once looked like a win for the Cardinals is now beginning to become for the Yankees. Unless the Cardinals can pull themselves back into contention again, this below .500 ball club needs to sell Montgomery to the highest bidder.
9) MLB Power Rankings: Seattle Mariners, Teoscar Hernandez
The Seattle Mariners have been disappointing this year after finally ending their playoff drought last year. Having fallen behind superior teams in the American League West, they could be headed toward becoming trade deadline sellers. The best and most reasonable player to trade is Teoscar Hernandez. They acquired him in the winter from the Toronto Blue Jays. He hasn’t played all that well and is probably going to lead the league in strikeouts.
With a contract about to expire, moving Hernandez this summer is a necessity for the Mariners. He won’t bring back the largest of returns, but there is a general manager out there who should view him as a change of scenery guy. In the right situation, Hernandez can recapture what made him a threat in the Toronto lineup.