MLB Rumors: 3 offseason moves the Cardinals must make other than improving the rotation
By Curt Bishop
MLB Rumors: The Cardinals should trade an outfielder, or two
If the Cardinals do in fact decide to target pitching via the trade market, they are fortunate to have plenty of depth in the outfield to make it happen.
In fact, one could easily argue that the Cardinals have far too many outfielders. They currently have Dylan Carlson, Tyler O'Neill, Lars Nootbaar, Richie Palacios, Alec Burleson, Juan Yepez, and Moises Gomez in tow. To make matters even more complicated, the Cardinals also have two utility infielders in Brendan Donovan and Tommy Edman who are capable of playing in the outfield, and have done so at various points this season.
Simply put, the Cardinals have too many outfielders and not enough places to put them all, so they'll need to address the logjam they currently are dealing with. Both O'Neill and Carlson have dealt with injuries over the past several years, and the Cardinals even toyed around with the idea of trading Carlson at the deadline in exchange for a controllable starting pitcher. In fact, they were in talks with the Yankees about a potential deal.
These outfielders could be enough to get St. Louis pitching for the rotation or the bullpen, depending on the package they send to other teams in trade offers. But it's obvious that the outfield situation has become a mess due to the fact that the team has so many players fighting for opportunities.
Engaging in trade talks for some of these outfielders would be a smart move for St. Louis.