A Cardinals-Athletics trade for pitching help that no one would see coming

There was a point in the season when the St. Louis Cardinals were a disaster. Their season looked to be wasting away right in front of their very eyes as their lineup struggled as much as any lineup in the league.

But that's not the case anymore. The Cardinals have gotten red hot over the last month and a half and they've completely changed the outlook on their season. Instead of selling their stars at the deadline, they could be looking to buy and buy in a big way.

One place they need to upgrade is in their pitching rotation, where they could turn to the selling Oakland Athletics to fill this hole.

A surprising Cardinals-Athletics trade for an injured starting pitcher

According to Jim Bowden of The Athletic, the Cardinals could be eyeing Paul Blackburn of the Athletics, once Blackburn makes his return from the injured list.

Blackburn threw off a mound last week and will make his return to a big league mound before the trade deadline. Many have written him off as a trade target, but Bowden's connection of him to the Cardinals makes perfect sense.

St. Louis wouldn't have to trade too much, and they would get him for a season and a half. He was solid in his eight starts before injury.

The Cardinals would be able to keep all of their top prospects in a trade for Blackburn, especially considering the fact that he's missed a good chunk of time with the injury. But they would need to part with two of their top 15 pitching prospects, Sem Robberse and Adam Kloffenstein.

Robberse, St. Louis' 12th-ranked prospect, has been solid in Triple-A this year. He's never going to be an ace in the big leagues, but he has the pitchability to get outs when he's commanding all of his pitches. His fastball velocity holds him back from being a highly touted prospect.

Kloffenstein, St. Louis' 15th-ranked prospect, has also been solid this year. He features two fastballs, which allows him to get a lot of groundballs. He doesn't have overpowering stuff either, but he can fill up the zone and get outs.

The Athletics are going to trade Blackburn anyway. They're likely going to deal him this season, if they can get a package that makes sense, like this one from St. Louis.

The Cardinals need one more pitcher to have the depth it takes to compete in their rotation. Blackburn isn't a world beater, but he's a veteran and he's been consistent over the last few seasons. This deal might surprise everybody, but it's a very real possibility when Blackburn returns.