Yankees Reportedly Targeting Switch-Hitting Cardinals Outfielder

St. Louis appears likely to move the young slugger

Scott Neville | Jul 19, 2023

Yankees Reportedly Targeting Switch-Hitting Cardinals Outfielder /

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It's no secret that the St. Louis Cardinals will be shipping off some impending free agents at the upcoming trade deadline, but how about some younger, more controllable pieces?

The Cardinals' front office has said that they are going to keep their core together. Players such as Brendan Donovan, Nolan Gorman, Tommy Edman and obviously Jordan Walker appear to be safe. However, one young slugger could be on the move, with an increased likelihood of heading to the Bronx.

"Per source, another outfielder has surfaced as a potential (New York) Yankees trade target: Dylan Carlson," MLB.com's Mark Feinsand tweeted Monday. "The Cardinals announced earlier today that Tyler O’Neill would take over the left field job upon his return from the injured list, so a trade of the switch-hitting Carlson wouldn’t be surprising."

Carlson is hitting .241 with 12 extra-base hits, 21 RBIs and a .725 OPS in 59 games this season. Paired with his outfield defense, the 24-year-old has racked up 1.1 bWAR in limited time. If the Yankees were to invest in Carlson, they'd have him under team control through the 2026 season. One thing appears clear, the Yankees are in the market for a corner outfielder and have been linked to a few to date, namely Colorado Rockies' Randal Grichuk.

As for the Cardinals, they have a logjam in the outfield that features Lars Nootbar, Alec Burleson, Walker and Carlson on the active roster plus Tyler O'Neill (injured list), Moisés Gómez and Juan Yepez on the 40-man roster. Not to mention, they've been giving outfield reps to Tommy Edman and Donovan as well.

It would be easy for St. Louis to offload an outfielder or two, and Carlson appears to be in consideration as an odd-man out.

More MLB: Cardinals Make Surprise DFA; Cutting Ties With Talented Young Hurler

Published Jul 19, 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