8 players the Cardinals should consider trading if their season is over

The St. Louis Cardinals are currently in a tailspin, losing six of their last seven games while falling to 15-21 on the season. And somehow, that’s not even the worst news of all. The Cardinals lost superstar catcher Willson Contreras to a broken forearm Tuesday night after his arm was hit on a swing by Mets designated hitter JD Martinez.

Are the Cardinals on a one-way road to becoming sellers again in 2024?

That’s how it feels right now, but I want to say up front that May 8 isn’t exactly the time for teams to determine whether or not they’re out of competition. But to be fair to Cardinals fans, it’s probably hard to entertain the idea of ​​patience after what happened in 2023.

The Cardinals could win their next four games and things would at least feel a little better. The offense continues to sleep despite all the talent it possesses. While the Cardinals preaching patience with their pitching woes in 2023 seemed desperate at best, their reluctance to abandon this offense makes a lot of sense. I understand the argument for changing the hitting coach to shake things up, but ultimately the lineup shouldn’t be as bad as it is.

And yet, here we are. And I think it’s fair to have some conversations about what types of trades the Cardinals might consider in the near future if this season ends up being a failure.

I’ve covered the general idea of ​​a 2025 reorganization on the site before, but today I’m going to delve deeper into each of the top trade candidates on the Cardinals roster if things continue to go south and they have to do it. begin real re-equipment or reconstruction. I’ll lay out their case a little as trade assets, talk about the type of value I think the Cardinals could get in return, and name a few destinations that might make sense.

While there is still time for the Cardinals to turn things around, here are eight players the club should consider trading if the season is truly over.

I’ll be brief on the idea of ​​Paul Goldschmidt as a trade chip, because he’s the most obvious piece to move, and yet he’s the most complicated player on this list when it comes to determining any type of trade value.

Goldschmidt has been bad in 2024, plain and simple. He’s now slashing .195/.287/.263, good for a .550 OPS and just 11 RBI on the year. It’s the beginning of May and Goldschmidt’s statistics still look bad. This is a continuation of what has been a truly disappointing second half from Goldschmidt in 2023, and frankly, there are no signs of things improving at the moment. After his 4-5 performance against the Tigers on April 30, Goldschmidt is 0-23 in the last six games he has appeared in, striking out in 10 of those appearances.

Right now, Goldschmidt doesn’t look like a guy any contender wants to add to their roster. So if this is the player he will be all season, then I honestly don’t know what will happen to him. Maybe someone offers pennies on the dollar to see if he gets a resurgence at a new club, or maybe the Cardinals get away with it and just let his contract expire. If he can turn things around, he could be one of the best bats available on the trade market and help the Cardinals land a decent prospect in return.

Trade Matches: Diamondbacks, Red Sox, Tigers, Twins, Mariners and Rangers