A Cardinals-Mets trade to fill St. Louis' outfield needs

The St. Louis Cardinals need some help from the right side of the plate. Their production against left-handed pitching has been lacking and the lineup is also very left-handed heavy. So, it makes sense why the Cardinals would want to balance some things out as the deadline approaches. Perhaps they could look to the New York Mets for a potential solution.

The Mets were one of eight teams that was listed as both a buyer and a seller. With New York in the second Wild Card spot in the National League, they definitely will be doing some buying. But they could sell from the fringes of their roster as well, and perhaps St. Louis could look to reunite with outfielder Harrison Bader.

A Cardinals-Mets trade to send Harrison Bader back to St. Louis

By receiving Bader, St. Louis would reunite with an old friend and bring in a reliable right-handed bat to play some in the outfield. Bader is hitting .263 with eight home runs, 36 RBI, and a .703 OPS on the season. He made his debut with St. Louis in 2017 and was traded to the New York Yankees in 2022 for Jordan Montgomery.

As for the Mets, they would receive St. Louis' No. 19 ranked prospect in Ian Bedell. Drafted in 2020 out of the University of Missouri, Bedell has a fastball and sinker that sit in the low-mid 90s. He also has a low-80s slider that he recently added to his repertoire which is now his best breaking ball. His mid-80s changeup fades well and he also has a curveball he can use as one of his weapons.

Trading Bader would not mean punting on the season for the Mets. They would simply be trading away an expiring asset to a team that needs a bat while also remaining in the hunt for other upgrades, most notably on the pitching side.

St. Louis has dealt with injuries for much of the year and it's unknown when players like Tommy Edman will return. And so, St. Louis could use another right-handed bat to give them a little boost in production against lefties.