These Five Cubs Players Could Be Cardinals Trade Targets If Firesale Occurs

St. Louis could pouch their rival's roster to boost their postseason odds

Scott Neville | May 29, 2023

These Five Cubs Players Could Be Cardinals Trade Targets If Firesale Occurs /

In this story:

The St. Louis Cardinals will need help to make a postseason run after a horrid start to the season. Will the rival Chicago Cubs offer a helping hand?

The Athletic's Patrick Mooney proclaimed the Cubs are close to waiving the white flag, interwoven between a masterful use of "Succession" references.

"This Cubs season wasn’t supposed to be over before “Succession.” Of course, there are still 110 episodes left for the 2023 Cubs," Mooney wrote Sunday. "This isn’t “The End,” as it is for HBO’s masterpiece with Sunday night’s series finale. It’s more like an underperforming team -- the crown jewel of an empire controlled by a billionaire family -- looks close to getting canceled."

While inter-division trades do not happen often, the Cubs have some pieces the Cardinals would benefit from and despite being equally unsuccessful thus far, St. Louis appears to be much more likely to go for it this season.

Chicago has a lot of quality pieces they could unload this season without tearing down for the future. Five players stand out as potential fits for the Cardinals.

Cubs ace Marcus Stroman will be one of the hottest commodities at the trade deadline if Chicago makes him available. The 32-year-old is coming off arguably the best start of his career -- a complete game shutout with just one hit surrendered. He's 5-4 with a 2.59 ERA, 62-to-24 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .188 batting average against and 0.99 WHIP in 73 innings pitched this season.

Stroman recently told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal that he would like to remain in Chicago long-term but the Cubs certainly will be tempted to trade him at his peak value.

The budget option to bolster the Cardinals rotation is left-hander Drew Smyly -- who is 5-2 with a 3.45 ERA -- will have an opt-out after this season assuming he logs 50 more innings. He will almost certainly be dealt this summer.

Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks is the last of the pitchers who could potentially make sense for the Cardinals but he just returned from injury and has fallen off in recent years.

As far as position players go, outfielder Cody Bellinger and catcher Yan Gomes could land on the Cardinals' radar.

Bellinger signed a one-year prove-it deal with a mutual option for 2024 this winter and has since hit .271 with 17 extra-base hits including seven home runs, 20 RBIs and a .830 OPS in 37 games. When Belli returns from his knee injury, there's a good chance the Cubs' fate will already be sealed. If that's the case, they'd be smart to capitalize on his value.

After a hot start, it seems likely that the former National League MVP will opt out of his deal and seek big money in the offseason.

Gomes is an interesting case. The Cardinals committed a lot of money to the catcher position when they inked Willson Contreras to a five-year deal but have since moved him primarily to the designated hitter role. If that trend continues, Gomes would make sense behind the dish. The 35-year-old catcher is hitting .280 with six home runs, 19 RBIs and a .762 OPS in 30 games this season.

The Cubs have a $6.5 million club option for 2024 but would be wise to capitalize on Gomes' hot start. That said, it would be more optimal to let Contreras back behind the plate and lock Nolan Gorman back into the designated hitter role.

Cubs relievers Michael Fulmer and Brad Boxberger could be options at the trade deadline as well but both have gotten off to poor starts and do not look like they would help St. Louis at the moment.

More MLB: Cardinals Reportedly Actively Looking To Trade Gold Glove Outfielder

Published May 29, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu