Cardinals Hinted As Possible Destination For One Of Best Pitchers In Baseball; Although Unlikely

Would it make sense for the Cardinals to pursue the former Cy Young Award winner?

The St. Louis Cardinals likely will get creative this offseason.

St. Louis has a lot of work to do -- especially in the starting rotation -- after an abysmal 2023 season. The Cardinals had one of the worst seasons in recent memory with a 71-91 record and now need to go back to the drawing board. St. Louis' offense should be in a good spot without much change heading into 2024, but the club already has hinted that it will be in the market for three new starting pitchers at least. 

We're a long way away from spring training with the postseason still ongoing and there's sure to be plenty of rumors involving St. Louis. Bleacher Report's Zachary Rymer released a list of possible destinations for Milwaukee Brewers star Corbin Burnes and included St. Louis as an option. 

"Maybe more so than any other team, the Cardinals have the biggest need for Burnes on paper," Rymer said. "And like the Orioles and Reds, they have more young hitters than they need. The question is: Do they really want to send one or more of them to an NL Central rival?"

Burnes would be a fantastic addition for the Cardinals but a move likely is a pipe dream. The 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner has been in trade rumors over the last year and likely will be moved this offseason. Although this is the case, it's unclear if the Brewers will want to help out a division rival in the Cardinals. St. Louis does have the prospect capital needed to get a deal done, but Milwaukee may not want to trade Burnes within the division.

A move certainly is possible, but should be considered unlikely. But who knows, maybe St. Louis could blow the Brewers away with a trade package. 

More MLB: Cardinals Floated As Top Destination For Exceptional Young Hurler On Trade Block