3 Cardinals to trade after dropping another series to Reds

Cardinals trade candidate No. 1: Jordan Hicks

Relief pitcher Jordan Hicks may have outstayed his welcome in St. Louis.

The Cardinals may not be ready to part with the 26-year-old, as Hicks does have strong attributes to potentially grow into a steady piece in the bullpen. He throws hard, is good at forcing ground balls, and has plenty of experience as a closer. The question the Cardinals have to ask themselves is: Is that enough?

Hicks’ 2023 season stats wave a bright red flag. He has a 4.73 ERA in just 26.2 innings and a 1.69 WHIP. His most recent performance against the Reds tells St. Louis everything the club needs to know: Hicks entered a tie game at the top of the eighth and promptly walked Elly De La Cruz, marking Hicks’ league-leading seventh leadoff walk of the year.

Adam Wainwright said after that game that the Cardinals are finding different ways to lose. Well, the Cardinals are finding out that putting Hicks out there late in games is one surefire way to do so.

The Cardinals can choose to send Hicks down to the minors to work out his pitching issues, but as of now, Hicks is too much of a liability to include in the bullpen rotation. If Hicks and the Cardinals don’t agree on a minor league assignment, the Cards could test the waters to see what a player like Hicks would command at the trade deadline. A young arm with high upside could provide immense value to other teams, just not for the last-place, down-bad Cardinals at the moment.