Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Some Very Interesting Trade Ideas For The Cardinals

Starting point is 00:00:00 At 37 and 37, the Cardinals seemingly will be buyers as we head towards the trade deadline. Today we look at more trade possibilities, some, some aggressive, some not so much, maybe even selling. How about that? All on today's episode of Locked on Cardinals. You are Locked on Cardinals, your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hey, they're Cardinals fans. I'm Jadie Haferin, I'm a national radio. sports anchor born and raised in the Lou and a lifetime Cardinals. And I'm your host for Locktown

Starting point is 00:00:38 Cardinals, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network covering your team every day. You can follow me on Twitter X at JD Sports Radio. You can also follow the podcast at L0 underscore Cardinals. We want to thank those of you who make Locktown Cardinals, your first listen to every day. We're free and available wherever you get podcast. You can also find us on YouTube. Make sure you stop on by, like, subscribe and comment. Interact with us. Don't be shy. This one's probably going to get a little bit of traction. We've already heard that Andrew's gotten a little bit of feedback from people already about his trade idea. So this one should be interesting. Make sure you guys hit that notification button so you know when new episodes are posted.

Starting point is 00:01:13 This is a show serving Cardle Nation and giving the best fans of baseball, all of the info about the birds on the bat. Today's episode of Lockdown Cardinals brought to you by Tax Network USA. Did you know that it's never too late to resolve your tax issues with the IRS? So don't wait. Reduce your tax debt, get help from a team of licensed tax professionals by calling 1-800-549,000. or visit tnusa.com slash locked on all right in case you don't know who this man is already let me introduce you to our partner in crime today from dealing with the cards podcast and the redbird rants dot com group of writers so many great ones on there and uh you know obviously you guys remember it from the the new news podcast but now dealing the cards is what they call it now it's mr andrew wang what's up buddy how are things in your uh show hey otani obsessed world how are things Well, he's been playing a lot better this week, so that's good to see. But yeah, I've been doing good. How are you? I'm doing all right.

Starting point is 00:02:11 He's been wonderful on my fantasy team. So I was saying, I was able to sneak him with the fifth pick. Everybody thought, oh, he's not a pitcher this year. He's not going to be his worthy. Now you're stupid. Now you're stupid because you let him fall to me. All right, so let's talk about the Cardinals, Andrew, 37 and 37. Your thoughts on the team up to this point,

Starting point is 00:02:33 disappointed, surprised, or kind of where you thought they would be at this point of the season? This is where I thought they would be, but they're doing it in completely the opposite way that I thought they would be, right? So I thought their pitching would be pretty bad for most of the season. The bullpen, I thought it was going to be better, but like some of the guys that have stepped up have really stepped up in a big way, healthily being healthy the whole year so far has helped with that. But the lineup not hitting is not something I really thought was going to have. I thought they would be kind of middling around right now and looking to get a pitcher. But like right now it seems like aside from the fifth starter, which hasn't yet emerged,

Starting point is 00:03:13 like maybe Palante after yesterday was pretty good. But like other than that, the bats really just haven't woken up. And that's what really concerns me because I feel like that solution is not fixable at the trade deadline. So we'll get into that in a second. But it's been a weird season so far for sure. Yeah. If there was one thing that people were going to point a finger at and go, I don't know about this team.

Starting point is 00:03:35 It wasn't the offense. That wasn't supposed to be the problem this year. Scoring runs was supposed to be something they did a lot of, did it all the time. And it was the pitching that was just going to barely do enough to get them by to pick up these wins. And we've seen, for the most part, especially your top three in the rotation, they've been pretty darn good on the pitching staff.

Starting point is 00:03:57 And we know how strong the bullpen's been. I don't know how long it's going to laugh. because the bullpen looks like it's exhausted already, and we're not even to July yet. So that's why you see these guys getting rested a little bit more, like Helsley, not even appearing in the Miami series, even though there were some situations where they probably could have used them, decided, no, not going to do it.

Starting point is 00:04:18 So we'll see what we could get at the trade deadline. Now, if you're John Moseilock right now, are you actively buying or selling, knowing how this team has been built and what you've seen? so far. I know we're going to get into both aspects, both trade ideas, but for you personally, would you be buying or sailing? Say the trade deadline is next week. Are you buying or selling? I've bounced back and forth on this, but right now, if the Cardinals have a playoff spot in hand, I don't think there's really a reason to sell right now because, like, you go, you get in,

Starting point is 00:04:51 they always say you get in, you make a run. I believe there are certain parts of a playoff roster the Cardinals don't have that they really do need to go get at the deadline, but Mo kind of made it sound like the other day that they're not really going to go and get those things. So like that's sort of the reason why I was leaning more towards selling initially. But now that we have a playoff spot in hand, now that the Cardinals seem to be playing better, maybe the bats will wake up. Maybe you make a run. So as of right now, I'm a buyer, but that can easily fluctuate based on the performance

Starting point is 00:05:22 of the team going forward. Yeah. And you see what the Phillies did and what the Diamondbacks did. And it still gives you. that even the naysayers are like, yeah, I see why you would stick around if you're still like a game or two out when you get to that deadline, why you would try to be a buyer, which is part of the problem with this trade deadline is going to be that so many people in the National League and in the American League, but specifically in the National League, it's so tight where there's could be a lot of fluctuation going on between now and the deadline at the end of July. So these trade ideas, they probably are going to change as time moves on. But you've got some doosies here, dude. You put out an article at Redbirdrance.com.

Starting point is 00:06:06 10 wildly trade deadline deals that the Cardinals could pursue before the trade deadline. So we're a little over a month away. So we're going to give you a couple of different levels of the ideas that Andrew came up with. And we're going to start with the wildly aggressive deal first. We'll tell you what that is next coming up on Locked on Cardinals. Remember the first day of school or the first day at a new job and you'd be wearing that brand new outfit that you picked out so that you would look and feel your best when you walk through those doors for the very first time. Well, you can still get that instant confidence boost again with Stitch Fix. And Stitch Fix is going to do your solid too.

Starting point is 00:06:47 And you get to tell all your friends and family about it that you got a stylist because that's what Stitch Fix does for you. They give you a stylist to help you out. They'll take into consideration your style, your size, your budget. and then they go and do the shopping for you. So maybe you're not really all that great at picking out your own clothes. They do it for you. So you can order things when you want, how you want, and no subscription is required.

Starting point is 00:07:09 The summer months are here. It is hot as 80s right now. So you want some stuff that's going to keep you cool in the summer, but look cool at the same time. So get it done the smart and efficient way by going with our friends at Stitch Fix. And if you don't love something, all you got to do is send it back. Shipping returns and exchanges are always free.

Starting point is 00:07:27 So if you're ready to upgrade a style that makes you feel as good as you look, get started today at stitchfix.com slash MLB and get $20 off.com. That's stitchfix.com slash MLB for $20 off. Stitchfix.com slash MLB must redeem within seven days of signing up. Are you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day? Have to turn down the volume with all the shouting. Then make the switch to locked on sports today. It's free 24-7 sports streaming channel program for you every day to bring you the biggest stories. without all the screaming because you don't need that. Locked on sports today brings you can-miss analysis, opinions and news, streaming 24-7 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app. It's all part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:08:16 Don't forget you can catch every pitch of the Cardinals hometown broadcast with Sirius XM, the weekend series with the Giants back at Bush. Just download the SXM app and search the word Cardinals. And again, thank you for making Locked on Cardinals your first listen every day. Once again, Andrew Wang from Dealing the Cards Podcast. Redbird Rants.com joining us here today to talk about trade ideas because I can sit here and come up with my ideas and tell everybody all about them. But I like hearing other people's trade ideas. And for once in a while, you guys get yelled at for a little bit, whether the people

Starting point is 00:08:47 like them or don't like them. You said that because you guys had this discussion on your recent podcast that you got some angry Cardinals coming at you guys about some of these trades. So curious what our locked on Cardinals audience will come at you with. So we're going to start with the wildly aggressive deal first, Andrew. A lot of big names in this one. St. Louis Cardinals received Luis Robert Jr., Garrett Crochet, and John Brebia, which obviously the biggest name of the bunch

Starting point is 00:09:17 from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Jordan Walker, Tinkent, Sim Robbersa, and Victor Scott II. A lot of talent there. Tell me about this one. Where did it come from? And why would it be good or bad for the Cardinals, if this is the route they went. Yeah, so first I'll give credit to my co-host on Dealing the Cards.

Starting point is 00:09:38 Josh and Sandy came up with a lot of these trades. So, I mean, I'm not going to take credit for all of them, good or bad. So we can share the love with that. This one actually has gotten a lot of controversy because, I mean, it's unbelievable how few people like watch an Instagram reel or a TikTok video. And it's 30 seconds. And they don't watch the entire thing. and we talk about how we would not make this trade,

Starting point is 00:10:05 and they yell at us for saying that we want to make this trade. Because none of us want to make this trade, right? Like, come on. Like, so if you're listening to this, at least go all the way through, hear me out for a second, because a lot of people want Luis Robert. A lot of people want crochet. I want John Brebia because he had a 3,000 OPS at one point,

Starting point is 00:10:26 and I like those two-way guys, but that's a different story. but Luis Robert, Garrett Crochet, people have talked about it a lot in the Cardinal space doesn't make sense to me because, first of all, Robert has a couple more years of control left. He's not really at his best right now. He has some injury history, but when he's at his best can be like a top five center fielder in the entire game. Huge upgrade over anything that you've got right now on the team. But he's going to be expensive, and the White Sox are rumored to be looking for a package

Starting point is 00:11:00 that's bigger than the Juan Soto deal. And honestly, this package with Walker and Scott and Hents and Robbersa might not be enough. There might be other teams that can offer more. And the Cardinals just don't have the farm depth to give that up. Like other teams might have a Mason win that the Cardinals are just not going to hear. Like, they're not going to listen if the White Sox asked for Mason win. That's just not going to happen. But other teams have those pieces that are expendable.

Starting point is 00:11:28 like CJ Abrams was just sitting on the on the Padres there was a log jam like the entire team is made up of short stops but CJ Abrams just didn't have a place and the Cardinals don't really have that luxury to play like that but that's what a package would look like if the Cardinals wanted to go on and get those big names Garrett Crochet has a lot of control left and he's only been a starter for like three months so do you really want to take that risk and go out and get him when he's had some injury history it's a big risky move. It would make the team a lot better today, probably position them to be maybe near like the Dodgers, the Phillies, maybe. I don't even know if it gets them that far, but like for this year with the farm depth,

Starting point is 00:12:12 not really being where it's at, it's been at in the past, like when the Cardinals were contending for Soto back in 2022, we don't have the same depth anymore. Like Jordan Walker is not a prospect anymore. And honestly, his value might not be where it was in 2020. too. So this is a move that we just kind of threw it out. There's a hypothetical. A lot of people got angry at us. I mean, I don't think any of us would do this. They were talking about it on 101 ESPN

Starting point is 00:12:40 today, actually, that some of them would do that because I think some of them aren't as high on the prospects like Hens and Scott and Walker. But I think it makes a lot more sense to keep those guys reload for the future. Because this year, I mean, there's not a guarantee you make the play. There's like seven or eight teams vying for that last wildcard spot. The Cardinals have it today, but that's no guarantee that they're going to have in October. So I don't know if this is the year to go all in. And that's why we didn't really like this deal, but it's what it would take to get the deal done. Yeah, I mean, think about it.

Starting point is 00:13:17 A week and a half ago, the Cardinals were in last place again, you know, and now we're talking second wildcard. That's how quickly things can flip with how tight it is in the NLY out card race right now. And that's my thoughts on this team right now, too, is that you add those three pieces. Does it really guarantee you that you can play with some of those big boys? I still find it hard to believe. I mean, we are talking about guys with huge upside, but I just, I don't see it. I don't see mortgaging five years to go all in on a team like this that's 37 and 37 and has, you know, an aging Nolan Arnato and an aging Goldschmidt. And, and an aging Goldschmidt.

Starting point is 00:13:57 and injuries galore all around. I just, it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, but I like that you guys put it out there because like you said, that's what it would take. That's what the White Sox are looking for in exchange. Now, if you wanted to break a piece off of that and go after your boy, John Brevia,

Starting point is 00:14:12 I'm okay with that, to be honest with you. That's the kind of trade that I'm kind of looking at with the Cardinals because I'm nervous about this bullpen going down because they've had to be used so much, specifically, you know, the top three in the back in there, that they need another veteran arm with no Keena Middleton, who's supposed to be that other piece to go along with Andrew Kittridge for those high-level situations.

Starting point is 00:14:36 And it's just been all on Kittridge instead. And, you know, you've seen him kind of wear down. And this is his gear coming back from the Tommy John. So I feel like it might be getting to these guys a little bit. And you can't really blame them. I mean, both all three of those guys are, you know, top 10 in appearances in the National League right now, I believe. So John Barbara, bring them on.

Starting point is 00:14:58 The other guys, I don't think the Carls can afford those types of moves. Next one, we're going to go to a grouping of the more conservative deals that you guys talked about. This one dealing with the Boston Red Sox, one that, you know, I haven't heard a lot of talk about this one, which is why it caught my attention. The Cardinals would receive pitcher Nick Povetta and closer Kinley Jansen. Boston would receive in exchange Juan Ben Chow, Jimmy Crooks, the third, and Connor Thomas. So you've got some prospects, some lower level prospects,

Starting point is 00:15:28 but you're getting some veteran help in the bullpen and in the rotation. I'm kind of on board on this one, Andrew. What are your thoughts on it? Yeah, so for this deal to go through, first of all, the Red Sox have to be open to selling. And they're kind of making a push right now. So I don't know if that's necessarily in play. But again, things can change really quickly.

Starting point is 00:15:49 I think the Red Sox have been on a run recently. And when this trade was when we decided on this trade, And we're kind of rude for them this weekend because they've got to play the Reds. Yeah, you know, we need to get these NL Central guys to keep going down a little bit. Yeah, but like recently there's been issues with our rotation depth. Stephen Matt suffered a stepback. Andre Palante was great yesterday, but like it seems like the organization doesn't really trust him to fill that last role. Kyle Gibson had a back thing that hopefully will never happen again, but that really was a problem for the team.

Starting point is 00:16:22 for the last couple of days. And adding another veteran starter like Nick Peveta would be great. He only has one year left. He's been a solid mid-tier starting pitcher, like high threes, mid-fours, ERA guy. He'll give you the endings. He's a Heim-bloom guy. If it kind of makes sense there.

Starting point is 00:16:41 And I don't really think the Cardinals are really going to go after those, Gera Crochet, Jesus Lazzardo. Like any of those guys are pretty much off the table because they would just be so expensive. There's going to be so many buyers. So you kind of have to patch the rotation together with whatever you can get. And Pivotto would be like a good ad. His strikeout rate's pretty high.

Starting point is 00:17:02 So you alleviate the defense for a little bit like Sunny Gray does with his strikeout rate. And then Kenley Jansen, you need a guy to replace Keena Middleton, right? Keena Middleton's not going to pitch this year. He was a guy you were relying upon to be that second right-handed option for like platoon matchups because Helsley's pitching the 9th and only the 9th. So he's a Ritey, but you're not going to use him against anybody in like a high-leverage seventh or eighth inning. You get a guy who's been there, has closing experience.

Starting point is 00:17:33 Now, I mean, watching Kenley Janssen from a distance, I've enjoyed seeing him blow up against the Cardinals over the years, but I mean, I guess maybe we're just that team. So he's had a track record with the Dodgers and the Braves and the Red Sox. and he's maybe going to be a Hall of Famer one day. So that would be nice to have at the back end of the bullpen. The guys are giving up. It's kind of risky.

Starting point is 00:17:58 Juan Ben-Chaud was someone I'm pretty high on. One of the first Korean prospects to sign internationally and not just go directly to the KBO. Must mean something. Jimmy Crooks, though, I feel like he has high upside, but the Cardinals have a lot of catching depth already. Like you saw Pedro Pai has come up, and he's been pretty good, even though he really just shouldn't.

Starting point is 00:18:17 be on the team right now. And Conner Thomas is kind of a throwing guy. He's on the 40-man roster, I believe, but he hasn't really panned out. I mean, this is just a fun point about Connor Thomas that I like pointing out is that when you look up Connor Thomas on Google images, as I have to make our social media graphics for this, you don't get a picture of the human being Connor Thomas. You've got a picture of a train named Connor from Thomas the Tank Engine. So that kind of shows you not really a relevant prospect these days. So it's kind of a fun. And I was hoping for more from him because a couple of years ago, he was like pitcher of the year in the Arizona Fall League. And they're like, oh, he's got this incredible cutter. And wait till you see it. He's

Starting point is 00:18:54 worked on it. And it works so well here in the AFL. And then last year, it just didn't work out at all. So I don't know. I don't know what his future with the organization is. But yeah, this is definitely a deal that screams, yay, for what the Cardinals need as far as pathetic. Because when you're talking about this rotation. If the top three stay the way they are and you've got Gray and you've got Gibson and you've got Michaelis who has turned his season around nicely over the last month. If he continues to trend upwards, you're really trying to just kind of find a four and a five to finish out the season, somebody you can trust. But that has been solid, as you mentioned. And you know, Kenley Jansen's got really good numbers with Boston this year. Yeah, well,

Starting point is 00:19:40 we won't forget about how Willie Contreras just got into his head. in Boston last year. That was fun for us. But yeah, I like this deal a lot. This seems like something more feasible, more of a mosaic-lock type of move than the wildly aggressive one. Let's move on to one more with a team that the Cardinals just played, lost two out of three in what was a grueling series in Miami. This one will be the Marlins and the Cardinals.

Starting point is 00:20:08 Cardinals received Trevor Rogers and Anthony Bender. The Marlins would receive Luke and Baker, Matt Caperney, and Andre Grenio, closer. You got the utility guy in Coperniac, Lucan Baker, who doesn't appear to have the future with the team. This is another one that seems on the plus side for the Cardinals. Yeah, Trevor Rogers was a guy that in 2021, finished second and rookie of the year voting.

Starting point is 00:20:35 But that rookie of the year class is really weird. Jonathan N's, you won the award, Dylan Carlson, finished third. A lot of guys that kind of haven't really become what we thought they could be. But he's dealt with some injuries. recently hasn't made a lot of appearances, hasn't thrown a ton of innings for the Marlins. But the Marlins are in full rebuild mode.

Starting point is 00:20:52 There's no way around it. And they're probably going to have to part with some of those arms that they've been developing, which is really sad because they had a really exciting core, but all those injuries. Can you imagine if they had like their healthy rotation with Alcantra, Luzardo? You've got like, what's his name?

Starting point is 00:21:13 Max Meyer was another one that went down within, injuries, you know, you've got Braxton Garrett, you've got Cabrera. Like, there's like seven or eight of them that if they were healthy. That's crazy. That'd be the craziest rotation out there. Yuri Perez, like nuts. But like, they kind of have to blow it up. And Trevor Rogers, someone who's not been great for them recently, but he's shown that in

Starting point is 00:21:40 the past, maybe a change of scenery, gets it done. And you're not giving up too much. Anthony Bender, again, you're going to get him. Right-handed reliever who's pitched in high leverage in the past. I think he missed all of last year due to injury, but came back hasn't been quite the same. But we'll see what happens with those guys going forward. Like, just banking on bouncebacks from those guys,

Starting point is 00:22:03 you win around the margins. It's kind of what this team has to do with the deadline. And once you're giving up, Matt Coperniac, a guy who's probably not going to see much major league action with the Cardinals, Luke and Baker, who, I mean, people want them to play first base next year if they don't retain Goldschmidt, but I think Alec Berluson has won that role pretty clearly over Luke and Baker at this point. You get someone else in the outfield who plays better defense. Jordan Walker is probably going to go there.

Starting point is 00:22:33 So Alec Berlinson, I feel like is my guy going forward. Andre Grinillo is probably the most intriguing prospect out of all of these guys. But I don't think you're really going to do any better. than that with two bounce back candidates. And if Rogers becomes even like half of what he was in 2021, that's a very solid number five starter. And again, when you get to the playoffs, you only really need Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson,

Starting point is 00:23:01 Miles Michaelis, slash Lance Lynn, whatever. Really, you don't need that many starting pitchers. So you get Rogers for the stretch run. You make the playoffs with him because a lot of these teams are going to be looking for pitching help. A lot of these teams don't have a full rotation. I feel like the Cardinals are in fairly good shape with that. But you get these guys that could be really good for a playoff run

Starting point is 00:23:24 and you don't give up all that much value. I feel like if the Marlins are opening to move it moving on from Rogers, it's a no-brainer. But again, it's not exciting, but that's what the Cardinals do. So we have to keep it realistic. Who are we talking about here? We're talking about Jamo Zeylon and the Cardinals, man. exciting, not something they usually gravitate towards, but they seem to make some pretty

Starting point is 00:23:47 decent deals at the deadline. You know, I mean, how many people were thinking about Jordan Montgomery that year for Harrison Bader? Like, that came out of nowhere and look how well that worked out. So, you know, there should be a little bit of trust when it comes to trade deadline deals, I think, with John Mosaic. It's in the off season when he's got a lot of time to ponder. That's when things seem to go sideways for Mo. All right. So there's a few other in this article. that Andrew and the guys came up with that you guys should check out. We're going to have a linked in our description. So make sure you go down there.

Starting point is 00:24:18 Click on it to the Redbird Rants.com website. And you'll see all of the other trades because there's some other big ones in there. But now I want to get to the point where if things don't go quite the way we want them to, what if things don't work out? And heaven forbid, the Cardinals start to fall out of the picture and become sellers yet again. We'll give you Andrew's possible deals involving at least, one all star. And this one might upset some people as well. So we'll tell you all about it coming up next on Locked on Cardinals. Here on Locked on Cardinals, we pride ourselves on getting you the latest

Starting point is 00:24:55 news for your team, whether it's the offseason draft, which is coming up, spring training, the playoffs, hopefully playoffs, it's year round. It's year round with Lockstone Cardinals. And you know what else is year round collection season, unfortunately, because tax season is over, it doesn't mean that the IRS is just going to, uh, we're cool. They're not going to stop. They don't stop. They don't coming after you for unfiled taxes. The IRS can garnish your wages. They can levy your bank accounts and even seize your property. So don't let the IRS target you.

Starting point is 00:25:22 Let the licensed professionals and tax experts at Tax Network USA go to bat for you. I'm somebody who's got a complicated tax portfolio right now because I have multiple jobs. So you go with the experts in situations like I'm in. You go with the experts who have over 14 years of experience and an A plus rating by the Better Business Bureau. So tax and network USA has saved their clients over $1 billion in tax debt. They could buy Shohei Otani with their tax debt that they've saved their customers. So whether you owe taxes, whether you've got complicated matters with your tax planning like I go through,

Starting point is 00:26:00 or you finally hit that parlay this season and need help correctly filing, call 1,800549,000, or visit t.NUSA.com slash locked on. You can check out the link in this episode's description down below and, of course, in the show notes as well. Well, why wait and keep stressing over it? Doesn't make sense. Reduce your tax debt, get help from a team of licensed tax professionals by calling 1-800-549-1,000, or visit TNUSA.com slash locked on. Locked on launch the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube.

Starting point is 00:26:36 It's now also available on Amazon Fire TV and the free fire TV channels app. Lockdown Sports Today is here for you 24-7 covering the top sports stories of the day with the local experts of lockdown, plus our national shows, which cover every league. You can find Locked on Sports today, now available on the Free Fire TV channels app. Once again, we got Andrew Wang from Dealing the Cards Podcast and Redward-Rans.com joining us today.

Starting point is 00:26:59 He and his buddies put their heads together. Great podcast, Dealing the Cars. You might have known it as the Newt News podcast before and came up with a bunch of different ideas and they wrote them all down. Again, the link to that particular article is in the description down below. So make sure you guys smash that

Starting point is 00:27:15 and go check it out for yourself because there's a lot more trades that they came up. with and the ones we're mentioning here on this show today. Our last one we're going to talk about if the Cardinals have to sell, which we hope they don't, but if something happens, I mean, you saw Ar and I don't get hurt. Things might happen. Things might happen. And there are going to be other teams that might be interested in some of these big names that are already on the Cardinals roster, guys like a Paul Goldschmidt, Ryan Halsley. You've heard a lot of people discuss whether

Starting point is 00:27:43 or not it might be in the best interest for the Cardinals to trade him. But you guys came up with a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Shocker, one of your other teams there, Andrew, with your boy Shoah. Here's the deal you guys posted. Cardinals received Chris Taylor, who broke our hearts just a few years ago. Pitcher Dustin May, Kyle Hurt, and the Dodgers in return would receive Nolan Aronado and Andrew Kittrich. Wow, that's a big one. That's a big one. Now, again, this is if things go sideways and they're not in contention anymore. You've heard people ask whether or not keeping Arnado was a smart move or not. Obviously, he's got the no trade clause so he'd have to approve it, but he's a California guy.

Starting point is 00:28:30 A lot of us have thought that if he was going to go somewhere, the Dodgers would be one that he'd be like, all right, I'll do it. Your thoughts on this deal, is this something that you're okay with if we get to that point and the Cardinals are out of it? Yeah, this is a really tough one because like two years ago, we were all like Arnato, like we don't want him to opt out because the rest of his contract seemed really team friendly, right? And clearly ever since then, hasn't really been the case. Like last year it was a step back. He was still very good. But this year, he's been just not really hitting at all, right?

Starting point is 00:29:08 His defense has been fine. Not quite what we expect out of him, but like it's still very good at third base. but like the bat, the power has seemingly vanished. And that's not really what you want to see out of a guy that you're paying upwards of $30 million a year. Now the Rockies are covering some of that, so it's not terrible. But I think if the Cardinals truly become like sellers and they fall out of contention, then they really need to seriously look at parting from Nolan Aronado. Because you look at the rest of this team in its future, Nolan Gorman, Lars Neup, Braden, Donovan,

Starting point is 00:29:44 Contreras even, guys that are up and coming, Contreras, not so much, but like Walker, Mason, Wynn, all of these guys are going to get more expensive. And you're going to want to bring in supplemental pieces to add to that. And having a $30 million a year hole in Nolan Aronado is not going to be very good. And I did not think I would be saying this two years ago. Sure. Maybe he would have thought. You're like, oh, he's going to retire a Cardinal. He's going to be one of the grades.

Starting point is 00:30:11 And now you're like, oh, no. I don't know. Like something is off with him. It's been off all season. And right now might be the only time that you can trade him without having to eat significant money. Right. And even still, look at the package that we have to get in exchange for him. Chris Taylor is basically us eating money.

Starting point is 00:30:35 But that's only one year and 13 million. It's not that much compared to what Arnaud is getting. And Chris Taylor is a DFA candidate the moment he lands in St. Louis. He's a DFA candidate for the Dodgers right now. Dustin May is a guy who had a lot of promise, but he's gone through a lot of injuries. And I don't really think he has a place on the Dodgers rotation right now, right? Like next year, I don't know if he's going to pitch this year,

Starting point is 00:30:59 but next year they get, they still have Yamamoto, Glass Now, Otani's going to come back and presumably pitch. Bobby Miller's been great. Like, Dustin May just doesn't really fit into that picture anymore, so they're kind of offloading him. But Walker Bueller who just came back. They've got a lot of arms out there. There's, they have a whole all-star staff on the IL.

Starting point is 00:31:21 Like it's crazy. But Dustin May is a guy that you take a flyer on. He could be great. Like I think you make this move in hopes of maybe contending next year and then trying to contend for real in 2026, right? That's where we're at at this point because Aronado has just not been himself. Kyle Hurts probably the most intriguing piece in this, in this package. You get a pitching prospect who's like top five in the Dodgers system.

Starting point is 00:31:48 He's already like 26. He's had some injury history. He hasn't been great. You don't really know what you're going to get out of him. And I mean, the Cardinals developing starting pitching talent isn't really something that goes hand in hand. So I wouldn't bank on anything out of that. It's mainly just a salary dump.

Starting point is 00:32:06 And you probably have to give him Kittred as well, who hasn't been as good recently. And Dodgers are looking for bullpen. help. They have a ton of pitching injuries. He might fit in really nicely there to replace like Joe Kelly or some of those guys who've gotten hurt. But like I see this move as a pure salary dump and that's really sad. But it's kind of the point where we're out with Nolan Aronado, right? Like you've seen these, a lot of players recently have kind of fallen off. Like the Braves, like they're hitting. Like what's going on with those guys? They're on much team-friendlyer deals.

Starting point is 00:32:38 They're a lot younger than Arnaudano. I'm not really worried about them. but like if this turned into an Anthony Rendon type situation, which it very well could. This is how Anthony Rendon started with the Angels. It could get really ugly and it could be a really big problem if the Cardinals want to contend with their young core. So I mean, no one or not are always a future Hall of Famer. I'm not really going to bet against him to bounce back,

Starting point is 00:33:00 but like you run the risk of him just not being good again. And that's really bad for fans. It's really bad for the organization because you're investing a lot in this guy. And it makes sense as a fit on the Dodgers, too. The next month he just went down with an injury, Mookie Betts broke his hand. We don't know what's going to happen with him. They just picked up Beggio to play third base.

Starting point is 00:33:23 Right. Somebody Toronto didn't want anymore. That's he's playing third. Yeah, exactly. So they have a need in their middle infield, right? You can fill third base and then you just go and see what happens. And like that's a very first world problem. The Dodgers are like, what, 20 games over 500?

Starting point is 00:33:41 they're like a 10-game lead in the NL West. But right now is their window. They're going for it. Like, their best player, they're paying $2 million this year because that's just what they want to do. They're going to go for it this year in the next 10 years. So even if Aronado isn't himself, like that's better than what they got right now. Kiki Hernandez has like a 530 OPS.

Starting point is 00:34:04 And I enjoy watching the Dodgers. I'll admit that right now on the Cardinal podcast. I like watching the Dodgers. I root for them to win. but like Kike Hernandez at third base is not the answer. So, I mean, it might be a win-win for both teams, right? Arnato, if Arnado is bad for the Dodgers, that's fine. They can survive it, but the Cardinals can survive.

Starting point is 00:34:24 Exactly. Whereas with the Cardinals, you're seeing what's happening with him and Goldie, not living up to expectations. And it's kind of, you know, you're at a crossroads here too. When you talk about it, you know, Nato and Goldie are good friends. And if they're not going to bring Goldie back next year, year. Maybe this is a point where Arnado's like, all right, you know, maybe it is time for me to try getting somewhere else, you know, if, you know, I'm kind of aging myself out of the Cardinals

Starting point is 00:34:51 organization, who, by the way, when you look at things, say, let's pretend that something like this does go down and not on the team anymore. You've still got capable guys to go play at the hot corner. You know, you can trust a Brennan Donovan down there. You can move Nolan Gorman back over to third base if you wanted to. And you've still got some outfield depth that is still. still available to play left field. And Burleson, if he's going to be your first basement of the future, you're still okay. Like you've still got some guys to fill out those spots in the outfield.

Starting point is 00:35:21 And you're still fielding a very good infield and a much younger infield at that with those guys on the corner. So there's part of me that's like, ooh, that's kind of exciting to think about. And at the same time, you're like, oh, it's just sad to see Nato not being able to be the guy that we've all come to know and love over the last decade of baseball. although he's looked a little more spry recently. I wonder if there was like a little shot or something that he recently got because he's looked a little bit better down a third,

Starting point is 00:35:48 a little bit quicker at the play with the bat. So I wonder if there's been like some sneaky stuff going on. That's just me thinking out loud, but it's just, it's funny. All of a sudden, you just, hey, I feel great. And he's just doing so. So I wonder if something like that might have happened. But unfortunately got hit on the elbow the other day, day to day with the right elbow contusion.

Starting point is 00:36:06 So we'll keep an eye on that. But very interesting stuff. I hope they do not become sellers. I hope that we talk about this about a month from now, Andrew, and we're talking about deals to make this team better right now. I hope that's what we get into. So make sure you guys are always checking out the podcast with Andrew and the guys Dealing the Cards Podcast.

Starting point is 00:36:27 And of course, you can check them out this article and many, many more great ones available at RedbirdRants.com. Andrew, where can everybody find you on Twitter X, my friend? Yeah, you can follow them. me at Andrew underscore Wang 7. And then at dealing the cards. You can find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts. We got stuff going up twice a week.

Starting point is 00:36:51 Always have some fun, fun time holding Mo's water, as they say. So we also have that. Before we wrap up real quick, thoughts on the Rickwood game on Thursday night. What did you think about all that? Yeah, I thought it was really special. I feel like it was handled probably one of the better. like special event games that MLBs had. They've had games in like overseas. I feel like none of those have been quite as good as we had anticipated, but like this one, I feel like honoring the legends

Starting point is 00:37:22 of the game that really haven't gotten the recognition that they deserve. It was great. It's really tough that Willie Mays passed away right before the game, but I feel like they, it was a good time to honor his memory as well. That was a really nice way that they did that. And yeah, the Brock was fun. The black and white for one inning was pretty cool to see as well. But yeah, overall, really good game. I thought the Giants were for sure going to win the game. Just with everything that happened, I was like, they have to win the game for Willie Mays, right? But I guess not. So we'll take that here as Cardinal fans, but I was not. That's how good the Cardinals are, Andrew. They beat the spirit of Willie Mays and San Francisco Giants. Take that.

Starting point is 00:38:08 Yeah, I'll give you the Moeswater thing so you can hold it too with that video. All right. I appreciate it, man. Well, go see Andrew and the guys on the podcast. Go check them out at Redbird Rance.com. As always, I appreciate you stopping by and joining us and talking us through some of the trade ideas you guys came up with. And thank you guys for making Locked on Cardinals, your first listen every day. If you haven't already, give myself a follow on Twitter X at L1 underscore Cardinals and a JD Sports Radio, of course, follow Andrew Wang as well.

Starting point is 00:38:38 And make sure you like and subscribe on YouTube to help our channel and our love for the Cardinals grow. You guys are the best fans in baseball for a reason. And we will see you next time on Locktown Cardinals.

Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Some Very Interesting Trade Ideas For The Cardinals

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.