Mike Shildt connection could rob Cardinals of another trade deadline win

The St. Louis Cardinals have been active at the MLB trade deadline, adding outfielder Tommy Pham and starting pitcher Erick Fedde courtesy of the Chicago White Sox. The three-team trade was arguably the most notable of the deadline so far,

Fedde is a solid middle-of-the-rotation arm, but St. Louis is far from done. They could use a bullpen upgrades and perhaps even more starting pitching. That is where former Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty comes in.

Flaherty had a love-hate relationship with some Cardinals fans upon his exit, but would welcome a return under the right circumstances. With St. Louis looking to contend in the NL Wild Card race, the time is right, assuming John Mozeliak is interested. There is an obvious roadblock to adding Flaherty, however, and that's the asking price.

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A Jack Flaherty reunion in St. Louis is a tough ask for Cardinals

There should be a bidding war for a pitcher of Flaherty's caliber. Yes, he's a rental, but the asking price for starting pitching is so great this trade season that Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris is holding out for the best deal. Given the Cardinals already rid the cupboard once in a trade for Fedde, Flaherty might not be an option.

While St. Louis seems unlikely, a Cardinals connection could land Flaherty in San Diego. As Jon Morosi pointed out, Flaherty and Mike Shildt had a great relationship while the latter was the skipper in St. Louis. Shildt was unceremoniously fired thanks to some philosophical differences with the front office.

However, with Shildt receiving another chance in San Diego -- and the Padres seeking some pitching depth -- the fit makes a lot of sense. Most importantly, AJ Preller is in charge of the Padres front office, and we're not sure he's humanly capable of going one deadline season without making a big splash.

Flaherty, who has 2.8 WAR and a 2.95 ERA on the season for the Tigers, would qualify as that splash, thus robbing the Cardinals of another rotation option at the same time.