Cardinals Rumors: Wainwright replacements, new prospect dazzles, trade bait

Cardinals Rumors: Dylan Carlson named as potential trade bait

After a busy trade deadline, the Cardinals may not be done shipping away players to build a competitive roster for 2024. With the impending retirement of Adam Wainwright, St. Louis may likely add at least one front-end starter this winter at the expense of their talented outfielder corps.

Star Dylan Carlson could turn into an intriguing trade chip by the season’s end. In his fourth season in St. Louis, Carlson is currently slashing .219/.318/.333 with five homers and 27 RBIs and has a long way to go before proving himself to be the franchise’s centerfielder of the future.

The 24-year-old has been touted as a future All-Star caliber player with the offensive prowess to match his defensive contributions. So far, Carlson hasn’t lived up to his lofty first-round-pick expectations, and the Cardinals may consider shopping him after the 2023 season to patch up more pressing areas of their roster.

Josh Jacobs of Redbird Rants wrote of Carlson’s red flags:

"Carlson’s calling card at the plate has been his ability to his left-handed pitching at an elite level, but he is now down to a .770 OPS against southpaws. That’s pretty good, but not the special trait it has been for him. Against right-handed pitchers, he’s basically unplayable with a .196/.288/.304 slash line."

At this year’s trade deadline, the Cardinals were reportedly unwilling to move Carlson unless a team offered a young starting pitcher. Expect St. Louis to try again to maximize Carlson’s value this winter, assuming his meager production doesn’t improve.