Cardinals Could Trade Young Outfielder After Injury-Riddled Season

St. Louis may end up trading one of its young outfielders

The St. Louis Cardinals certainly have been busy this offseason.

St. Louis has made a handful of intriguing additions and a few notable subtractions. The Cardinals traded outfielder Tyler O'Neill away earlier this offseason after a rollercoaster stint with the club.

The Cardinals have had a logjam in the outfield and O'Neill was the first person to be on the way out of town to alleviate it. While this is the case, another move could be on the way at some point.

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand compiled a list of his "All-Trade Rumor Team" and mentioned Cardinals outfielder Dylan Carlson.

"The Cardinals have already traded Tyler O’Neill this offseason, but Carlson remains part of a crowded outfield that includes Jordan Walker, Brendan Donovan, Tommy Edman and Lars Nootbaar," Feinsand said. "St. Louis received interest from multiple teams earlier this winter, though the Cards ultimately dealt O’Neill instead. Carlson broke in with a solid rookie season in 2021 (18 home runs, .780 OPS in 149 games), but he has struggled since, hitting 13 homers with a .680 OPS in 204 games in 2022-23).

"Buzz factor: Low. Carlson is set to earn $2.35 million in 2024 and is arbitration-eligible for two more years before becoming a free agent. There is no urgency to move Carlson now, but if a club comes calling for outfield help, he could be a chip for the Cardinals to use to address other areas of need."

Carlson was mentioned in trade rumors on numerous occasions but still is with the Cardinals. He likely is the club's fourth outfielder at this point. St. Louis still has a surplus of outfield talent so it wouldn't be too surprising to see a move happen at some point. If he's able to bounce back, maybe he could be a candidate to be moved ahead of the trade deadline.

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