MLB Rumors: Cardinals-Mariners trade snag, Yankees trade for ex-MVP, Tigers good deadline news

MLB Rumors: Cardinals and Mariners have talked trade, but George Kirby causing a snag

All signs point to the St. Louis Cardinals not, in fact, turning this season around and, instead, becoming one of the most contacted sellers at the trade deadline. They are well out of the division and wild card races and nothing is going right. So it stands to reason that they would look to set themselves up better for the future.

For the Cardinals, that almost certainly means targeting controllable starting pitching, something they have precious little of, at least in terms of proven big-league arms. While Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery could be dealt, they also have position players who should draw heavy interest.

And apparently, the Seattle Mariners have already started to try and get a trade brewing with the Cards. There is a problem, however.

According to MLB insider Jon Morosi on Threads, the Cardinals and Mariners have had early trade discussions but haven’t come to terms on anything. And the big reason as to why is that Seattle has made 25-year-old starter George Kirby “untouchable” in any trade talks.

It’s understandable why the Cardinals would want Kirby, a young pitcher who won’t even hit arbitration until 2026 and who has a 3.21 ERA and 1.04 WHIP this season. Given that, though, it’s also reasonable why the Mariners aren’t going to move him for a short-term fix, even if it would help the team’s plight.

Perhaps the bigger story still, though, is that the Mariners are already sniffing around St. Louis for offensive help to insert themselves into the thick of the AL West race after a middling start to the year. One thing we seem to know for sure, though, is that they won’t be using Kirby to make a leap up into contention.