Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Slugger Floated As Possible Trade Piece For Intriguing Hurler To Bolster Rotation

Should the Cardinals trade one of their rising young stars to improve the rotation?

Patrick McAvoy

Cardinals Slugger Floated As Possible Trade Piece For Intriguing Hurler To Bolster Rotation
Cardinals Slugger Floated As Possible Trade Piece For Intriguing Hurler To Bolster Rotation /
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Who will end up taking the mound for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2024? 

St. Louis will be looking to add at least three starting pitchers this offseason. The Cardinals have said all of the right things so far this offseason and have stated their intentions to improve the rotation. 

The Cardinals have been linked to multiple intriguing free agent hurlers -- including Minnesota Twins ace Sonny Gray -- but could also end up being busy in the trade market. Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter compiled a list of five hypothetical trades for this offseason and suggested one move that could make sense is if the Cardinals dealt slugger Nolan Gorman to the Seattle Mariners for rookie pitchers Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo.

"Assuming Logan Gilbert and George Kirby are off-limits in trade talks, the Cardinals could still make a play for Bryce Miller (25 GS, 4.32 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 119 K, 131.1 IP) or Bryan Woo (18 GS, 4.21 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 93 K, 87.2 IP) who both put together strong rookie seasons in 2023 and have several years of club control remaining.

"The Cardinals will cling tightly to budding star Jordan Walker, but slugger Nolan Gorman (117 OPS+, 27 HR, 76 RBI) might be available in the right trade. Alec Burleson, Dylan Carlson, Tommy Edman, and Brendan Donovan are other controllable position-player pieces they could leverage for pitching help."

Gorman has been mentioned as a trade candidate on multiple occasions and could bring in a solid return if the Cardinals decided to make a move. Either Miller or Woo could make sense as targets as both have years of team control remaining and impressed in 2023. While the Cardinals will pursue someone like Gray to be a top-of-the-rotation arm, landing Miller or Woo could help give the rotation more depth. 

It's unclear if a move actually could happen but the Cardinals should be considering all options. 

More MLB: Cardinals Reportedly Showing Interest In Elite Free Agent Closer To Bolster Bullpen

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu