A Cardinals-Mets trade to solve one of John Mozeliak's biggest problems

As was the expectation, the St. Louis Cardinals are a team that will be looking for starting pitching if it buys at this year's trade deadline. Their offense has started to slowly pick it up and should only continue to improve when players return from injury. Their bullpen has been mostly stellar all year. The rotation is the weak link.

The top of the rotation is covered as Sonny Gray has had a strong first season in St. Louis, but the rest of it leaves a lot to be desired, and that's even with Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson exceeding expectations. Miles Mikolas can eat innings but has an ERA well over 5.00, and while Andre Pallante hasn't been bad filling in for the injured Steven Matz, the Cardinals would be better off pursuing an upgrade.

Without many known sellers, a team like the New York Mets could look to take advantage of pitching-needy teams like St. Louis. Yes, the Mets are in the postseason race with St. Louis, but have an abundance of starting pitching. It's been widely reported that they'd consider moving one or even multiple starters to either fill other needs or receive prospect capital in return. A deal with the Cardinals could make some sense.

A Cardinals-Mets trade to get St. Louis much-needed starting pitching depth

Here's the deal. The Cardinals acquire a familiar face, Jose Quintana, who played a huge role in their run to the postseason back in 2022, and in return send New York two relievers.

Quintana got off to a miserable start to his season but had a 3.38 ERA in his five June starts, allowing three runs or fewer in all five outings. He doesn't give as much length as he once did, but is more reliable than Pallante, and gives them some much-needed depth.

In exchange for Quintana, the Cardinals would trade from a position of strength to help a Mets team in dire need of bullpen help.

Giovanny Gallegos is the main piece going from St. Louis to New York. Gallegos was once an important late-game arm for the Cards, but had a rough year in 2023 and has been borderline unusable this season. He had an ERA of 12.00 before landing on the injured list in early May. He has pitched well in each of his first two appearances since returning, but it remains to be seen if he actually turned a corner.

Additionally, the Mets would be landing Nick Robertson, a reliever acquired in the Tyler O'Neill trade with the Boston Red Sox over this past offseason. Robertson has appeared in eight games with the Cards this season, allowing six earned runs in 12.1 innings of work (4.38 ERA). He has a 5.45 ERA in 26 career appearances spanning the last two seasons. He has struggled in the minors this season as well, but gives the Mets more needed bullpen depth plus the ability to be optioned back to the minors without being DFA'd.

This is probably a bit of an overpay on St. Louis' end, but it works for a couple of reasons. First, they're in direct competition with the Mets. If they want an arm that the Mets have, the Mets have no reason to give the Cardinals that player without John Mozeliak overpaying a bit. So many other teams need starting pitching. Second, Quintana is a starter. Starting pitchers will always be more valuable than relievers. Quintana for Gallegos probably leans slightly in New York's direction, which explains the Robertson inclusion.

Ideally, the Cardinals would pursue better options than Quintana like Luis Severino or Sean Manaea if we're talking about the Mets. But if the Mets are actually in contention come late July, it's hard seeing them part with those two starters. Thus, they settle for Quintana, and don't have to give much up in return.