Cardinals rumors: Manoah connection grows, reunion with ace is not player's priority, obvious trade piece available
- The Cardinals are open to trading Tyler O'Neill, in a not-so-shocking development
- One former Cardinals ace doesn't seem to love the idea of a possible St. Louis return
- The Cardinals have been named as possible suitors for one starting pitching target that could be a huge mistake
By Josh Wilson
An Alek Manoah trade floated, but a terrible idea
Earlier this week, Derek Goold tabbed the Cardinals as interested in possible buy-low starting pitcher Alek Manoah, who imploded with the Toronto Blue Jays last season after emerging as an elite starting pitcher in 2022.
Given his 2023 struggles -- 5.87 ERA, 6.01 FIP, 1.740 WHIP and 6.1 walks per nine innings -- that was not an ideal piece of news for Cardinals fans to learn. Unfortunately for fans disappointed by that development, the connection is picking up steam, with FanSided MLB Insider Robert Murray connecting the two as well in his most recent article.
As with any trade, this all comes down to price. If the Cardinals are able to acquire Manoah for what is truly a bargain bin deal, this may be palatable. One would think there's still an MVP and near-Cy Young threat somewhere in Manoah, it's just a matter of how difficult it will be to draw that ceiling out.
But if St. Louis is giving up real assets for a player who bounced back and forth between minor and major leagues last year due to inconsistency and struggles as a starter, that's not going to play...
The Cardinals also are outwardly saying they're looking at starting pitching as one of its key offseason issues to solve. Hopefully, this is just one of many possible options they're pursuing, because this feels like far from a sure thing to improve on issues that plagued the team in 2022.
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