A blockbuster Cardinals-Astros trade that would force Houston to actually sell

Oh man, do I have a hypothetical for you.

Recently, Thomas Gauvain of Redbird Rants wrote an article where he described his top five dream trade targets for the St. Louis Cardinals ahead of the 2024 trade deadline. On his list were two Houston Astros, Framber Valdez and Kyle Tucker.

Both Tucker and Valdez are unlikely to be traded as of now, and they each have an additional year of team control on their contracts for next season. But, if the Astros are to fall completely out of the postseason race, they could look to sell.

Would a trade package for both the star Astros ever make sense? Who knows, but if the Cardinals are able to put together a trade for such a large return, here's how it would go down.

A blockbuster Cardinals-Astros trade for Kyle Tucker and Framber Valdez

I want to preface, again, that this is a hypothetical trade. The Astros, still, hold on hope for the postseason and they've never been the type of team to roll over and give up. Two superstars like this are rarely, if ever, packaged together.

But the Cardinals may have the player capital to get the deal done, if they include two top 10 prospects and two MLB outfielders. Even then, the Astros may laugh and hang up the phone.

The trade begins with outfielder Jordan Walker, the Cardinals top prospect from a year ago. Walker is a truly special talent but has struggled more than anticipated this season. His potential is incredibly high, but there is no Tucker and Valdez trade without Walker being dealt.

Dylan Carlson is another MLB guy, a struggling one, but definitely an MLB talent. The Astros would be able to slot him in their lineup every day in an attempt to turn his season around. Still just 24 years old, he has a ton of potential and two years left of team control on his contract.

The package ends with two top 10 pitching prospects in the Cardinals system, one of them being Tink Hence, the 47th-ranked prospect in baseball.

Hence has generational potential and is having the season to back it up. He holds an ERA near 3.00 in Double-A this year. If he was dealt to Houston, he may spend a few weeks, maybe a few months, in the minors, but the Astros would be trading for him to use him in the big leagues.

Graceffo, St. Louis' eighth-ranked prospect, is another pitching prospect who could throw in Houston this year. He's a polished prospect who could provide true talent to the Astros in 2024.

Still, even with this loaded return for the Astros, they could just laugh and hang up the phone. That's just how the game works when you would make a call for two of the other team's best players.