MLB Rumors: Braves trade grade, Cardinals trade bait, Red Sox selling

MLB Rumors: Cardinals are shopping Dylan Carlson to several teams

With the St. Louis Cardinals having already traded away the likes of Jordan Hicks and Jordan Montgomery, could one of their outfielders be next?

While Montgomery and Hicks were considered rentals, Dylan Carlson is not. St. Louis is stocking up their farm system with pitching — and ideally pitchers who are nearing the MLB level. Carlson has several years left on his contract and while he’s having a down season by his standards, this is still the same player St. Louis was reluctant to include in trades for stars such as Juan Soto.

Baltimore has shown particular interest in Carlson, if only because of their obvious need in center field. Cedric Mullins is out with a groin strain, and Aaron Hicks is also on the injured list.

While Carlson can be locked up for the next three seasons in Baltimore, the Orioles don’t need outfield help alone. In fact, their long-term outfield looks relatively decent. But pairing Carlson with, say, Jack Flaherty to increase the return makes far more sense than dealing him as a standalone.

As MLB trade rumors notes, “A speculative outfield of Hays, Mullins and Carlson would be defensively superior to the current alignment. Adding Carlson to the mix would also open further avenues for offseason deals…If Baltimore’s interest in the Cardinals’ pitchers extended beyond Montgomery, then it stands to reason that a deal surrounding Flaherty and Carlson could still be discussed.”

The O’s do not want to sell off any of their young talent, but perhaps they could afford to part with some farm system depth, or MLB-ready starting pitchers.