A Cardinals-Marlins trade to help continue St. Louis' winning ways
The St. Louis Cardinals are headed in the right direction, but they're not out of the storm just yet. They still sit in third place in the NL Central, but they're only seven games back. To make up this ground, they need to be aggressive at filling the holes on their roster.
One of the biggest holes on the Cards roster is in the bullpen. While St. Louis has good pieces in the bullpen, as a whole, their bullpen ranks seventh worst in the MLB in ERA. The solution to this problem is found on the trade market and it could very well be with the aggressively selling Miami Marlins.
A Cardinals-Marlins trade that sends Tanner Scott to St. Louis to save the bullpen
We all know how good Ryan Helsley is for the Cardinals in that bullpen. The rest of the bullpen? Not as dominant.
Enter Tanner Scott, the closer from the Marlins. Scott is a free agent at the end of this season and could provide a stable lefty in the bullpen.
So far in 2024, Scott has seven saves and an ERA under 2.00, despite showing concerning command issues. If these walks can be calmed, he may be one of the better lefty relievers in the game. The Cardinals need him in their bullpen, even if it's just a rental piece.
Scott Cards
A trade like this is as simple as Tanner Scott for a pitching prospect in the middle of the team's top 30 prospects. Scott is just a rental for the Cardinals, so he wouldn't merit multiple prospects or a top prospect.
Kloffenstein is no slouch though, ranked 16th in the St. Louis farm system. He's shown the ability to get hitters out in a multitude of ways. His pitch aresenal is pretty developed and his command is improving. Pair him in the Marlins system that's loaded with young pitching talent and he could blossom.
For the Cardinals, this is worth the loss. They need to improve their bullpen or they'll never catch Milwaukee. If you're looking to catch up seven games on a solid team, you can't be losing games in the 7th, 8th or 9th inning, when you're ahead. The bullpen needs help and Tanner Scott is the perfect, rental piece to compliment Ryan Helsley at the end of games. It would also give them two closer options, one of each handedness.
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