Cardinals cheap nature is at the root of weird Tommy Edman trade rumors

It looked as if this was going to be another lost season for the St. Louis Cardinals when they fell to nine games under .500 the day before Mother's Day, but instead, they completely turned their season around, performing like one of the elite teams in the National League to get themselves back into the postseason race.

Their play has staggered a bit lately as St. Louis has lost back-to-back series to fall to 50-47 on the season, but even with their recent struggles, they're just 1.0 game back of the third Wild Card spot. With the right moves, you'd think this Cardinals team would have as good of a shot as any to get to the postseason.

Fortunately, Katie Woo of The Athletic (subscription required) said that the Cardinals are searching for much-needed starting pitching help, but there's a catch. They seem to need financial relief to fill that hole. They hope to have received at least some of the help that they needed by DFA'ing Giovanny Gallegos on Sunday, but more could be coming. The Cardinals could look to trade Tommy Edman to give them some more financial flexibility.

Here's what Woo had to say about that possibility:

"President of baseball operations John Mozeliak will gladly take any sort of financial relief as he looks to bolster the rotation. The possibility might be increasing that Tommy Edman— a player who has yet to appear in a major-league game this season — could help them get it. Edman continues to garner interest, with both the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees inquiring about his availability."

(For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work onThe Baseball Insiders podcast, and join the discord to get the inside scoop as we near the July 30 MLB trade deadline.)

Longtime Cardinals utility man is in trade rumors for one weird and frustrating reason

Edman being in trade rumors is strange for a team trying to compete, but contenders can trade a useful piece if it means filling another hole. If the Cardinals were looking to trade Edman (a player who hasn't appeared in a game yet this season) to acquire some pitching help then sure, that'd make some sense, but why does it have to come down to that?

The Cardinals are a team that consistently draws some of the best attendance numbers in MLB, and happen to be a very historic brand. Edman is making $7 million this season, and is owed less than half of that from now until the year's conclusion. St. Louis ranks 12th in payroll according to Spotrac. Cardinals ownership crying poor over this is frankly disgraceful to a fanbase that is as supportive as any.

Edman has been battling injuries this season that have prevented him from contributing to the MLB club but is nearing his return. When healthy, he's a very productive player. He's a switch-hitter, can steal bases, is a Gold Glove-caliber defender all over the diamond, and even has a .803 OPS against left-handed pitching in his career, which is something St. Louis would benefit greatly from adding.

The 29-year-old should not be untouchable by any means, but to act as if he's the kind of player who should be dumped for financial reasons is insane. Gallegos being DFA'd for that reason was frustrating enough, even if his performance warranted it. Edman being traded just to clear some money would be a whole lot worse, and is presumably something that any contender would be happy to take advantage of.