An Orioles-Cardinals trade to get a second ace from the NL Central

The Baltimore Orioles made a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers to steal Corbin Burnes from the NL Central, much to the relief of the rest of the division. Now, Baltimore is in the perfect position to trade for another NL Central ace to place atop their rotation.

The Orioles have faced some pitching injuries leading to their starting rotation being a bit depleted, albeit still talented. They could turn to the, potentially fire selling St. Louis Cardinals, a team who may look to trade their newly signed ace, Sonny Gray, if they want to enter a huge rebuild.

Now, it isn't common to sign a player in free agency, especially to a three-year contract, and then turn around and trade that same player the same year that you signed him. But the Cardinals could end up in uncharted waters, where they may trade any aging player with value.

An O's-Cardinals trade that steals Sonny Gray out of the NL Central

The AL East race between the Orioles and the Yankees may end up being a race that gives us the top two teams in the American League. That's how talented these two teams are and that's how close this race could be.

With the Yankees likely being big time buyers at the trade deadline, and also returning Gerrit Cole from the injured list, the Orioles will need to outdo the Yankees aggressiveness in order to get the upper hand in the AL East.

Let's preface something. St. Louis does not have to move Sonny Gray. They would need a trade package that blows them away in order to make this move.

That's exactly what the Orioles could do, due to just how loaded their farm system is.

Coby Mayo, MLB's 20th-ranked prospect, headlines the deal for the Cardinals. He's got game changing potential, but the Orioles would have to work to find a spot for him to play every day at the big-league level. The Orioles are so loaded that their top farm talent won't even have guaranteed spots on the big-league roster because of young stars like Gunnar Henderson.

Does Baltimore want to lose Mayo? Absolutely not. Could he be moved for an ace starter that has game changing potential in himself? Yeah, they very well might.

Baltimore would have to choose between parting ways with Heston Kjerstad and Coby Mayo if they wanted to acquire Sonny Gray and with the state of their MLB roster, they probably value the outfielder Kjerstad a bit more.

St. Louis would take this deal in a heartbeat, but it would mean they're committing to a fire sale and they're okay with being uncompetitive for a few seasons.

For the Orioles, it really would depend how committed they are to winning right now. They have the talent now to win as well as the farm system to win for years to come. They could deal Coby Mayo away in an attempt to add another NL Central ace to their rotation.