ST. LOUIS – It’s officially deadline day. Less than eight hours remain for the Cardinals to complete any midseason trades for the rest of the 2024 campaign.
The Cardinals ventured into the trade market Monday through a three-team deal that sent reestablished starting pitcher Erick Fedde and former Cardinals outfielder Tommy Pham to St. Louis, while also sending longtime fan favorite Tommy Edman to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
What’s in store for deadline day? The Cardinals made a fairly predictable move on Monday. With a true blockbuster or revenue splash reportedly unlikely, it remains to be seen what other moves St. Louis can make in hopes to transform the ballclub from one sputtering around .500 to a contender this season.
Opening a 26-man roster spot
Fedde and Pham will both join the Cardinals roster in the upcoming days, with Pham expected possibly as soon as Tuesday. The Cardinals cleared one roster spot on Sunday by designating reliever Giovanny Gallegos for assignment. They will need to clear another to roster both Pham and Fedde, either through trading, optioning or releasing another big-league piece.
The odd man out could possibly be switch-hitting outfielder Dylan Carlson. A 2016 first-round draft pick, Carlson emerged as one of the league’s top prospects in the turn to the 2020s, and held the fort as a Cardinals starting outfielder for much of the 2021 and 2022 campaigns. However, a combination of injuries, competition from young outfielders and declining offensive production has made it hard for him to carve a regular role in recent years.
MLB.com’s John Denton reports the the Los Angeles Angels, Cleveland Guardians and Washington Nationals have all shown interest in Carlson. He reportedly told Denton on the possibility of a fresh start with a new team “It’s something that’s real for some guys.”
Other possible corresponding moves, but seemingly less likely, are optioning a bullpen piece back to the minors, like Chris Roycroft or Kyle Leahy, or even less likely, clearing the roster spot occupied by backup shortstop Brandon Crawford.
Push for relief reinforcements
The loss of a longtime piece in Gallegos and inconsistencies in the middle of the bullpen may prompt the Cardinals to consider adding one more relief arm. With plenty of surrounding playoff hopefuls, however, demand is high and supply is relatively low.
The biggest name still available is Marlins’ lefty All-Star Tanner Scott. He’s averaged around 12 strikeouts per nine innings in his career and has some of the best command of his career over the last two seasons with a WHIP near 1.00. The Marlins are obvious sellers, and Scott should drive a high price and fetch at least two to three prospects. The Cardinals might avoid that, though replenished their farm system after selling some expiring free agents last year.
A change-of-pace right handed relief pitcher might fit best on the bullpen. Perhaps Tampa Bay’s Peter Fairbanks, Oakland’s Lucas Erceg and Washington’s Dylan Floro are names the Cardinals could also consider if available as the deadline draws closer. St. Louis doesn’t have any obvious links to a relief pitcher yet, like they had with Fedde, but adding another bullpen piece is a situation worth monitoring.
Depth move?
The Cardinals have a variety of players in Triple-A Memphis that have either earned big-league experience or are knocking on the door, yet they are stuck for the foreseeable future due to the team’s current big-league depth with position players.
Eventually, maybe not this year, St. Louis will have to decide if there is a path for consistent playing time for position players like Ivan Herrera, Jose Fermin and Luken Baker. The same could be said for pitchers like Gordon Graceffo, Adam Kloffenstein, Michael McGreevey and others.
From a front office standpoint, if it’s hard to envision a path to consistent playing time for any of these guys over the next few years, a trade could be the way to go. Perhaps as a complimentary piece for a bullpen deal. One can’t rule out the possibility of the Cardinals adding cash considerations or a player to be named later to deal with their surplus of almost-ready MLB talent.
As the case for relief pitchers, there are no obvious indications that anyone from Memphis or lower will be on the move, but the possibility still exists until the deadline on Tuesday.
On deck
The 2024 MLB trade deadline, the last possible moment to complete all midseason MLB trades, is set for 5 p.m. CT on Tuesday.
The Cardinals (54-52) host the Texas Rangers for a three-game series that runs through trade deadline to close their July schedule. After a loss Monday, the Cardinals are currently two games out of the NL Wild Card picture and seven games back of the NL Central division lead.
