Cardinals Should Consider Trading From Logjam Of Infield Prospects This Offseason

St. Louis could try to instigate a trade this winter

Jul 9, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Nolan Gorman (16) celebrates with shortstop Jose Fermin (35) after scoring against the Chicago White Sox during the tenth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals have fallen behind in player development and must find a way to rebuild the team without sacrificing future talent.

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has been given little financial freedom to strengthen the team's farm system as ownership valued offseason spending over drafting and developing.

Now that the Cardinals appear ready to retool the farm system, Mozeliak needs to find ways to retool the big league roster as well. One way he can achieve this would be to trade from the logjam of infielders St. Louis has in the minors.

Cardinals affiliate infielders such as José Fermín and César Prieto would be solid trade options for teams looking to add infield depth this offseason.

Fermín batted .311 with 21 extra-base hits including eight home runs, 27 RBIs and a .924 OPS in 61 games played for Triple-A Memphis this season.

The 25-year-old has seen limited playing time in the majors and would likely thrive if he was given an opportunity to play at the next level on a consistent, day-to-day basis.

Prieto was one of the hottest-hitting Cardinals top prospects at the beginning of this season. Although he cooled off, the 25-year-old still logged a .279/.318/.445 slash line with 14 home runs and 56 RBIs for Triple-A Memphis in 2024.

With Nolan Gorman and Thomas Saggese prepared to battle it out for the starting second base position next season, there isn't much room on the Cardinals roster for either prospect.

Nolan Arenado has third base locked down through at least 2027 and Masyn Winn, who is projected to be the next face of the franchise, will be the starting shortstop for the foreseeable future.

Perhaps the Cardinals could trade Prieto and Fermín to the Seattle Mariners, whose offense is ranked No. 21 in the league with 661 runs scored, in exchange for a starting pitcher, which the AL West club has plenty of.

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