Trade Deadline Preview: St. Louis Cardinals
By Sam Clancy
Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Possible Targets
1. David Price
The Rays top starter has really been showing out this season, making his price skyrocket. He has been one of the top starters in baseball. His career numbers won’t blow you away until you consider he has played each of his seven seasons in the AL East. If he gets a chance to come to the lighter hitting NL Central who knows what his numbers could look like. And the Cardinals play for October, where Price has mixed success. As a reliever in 2008 Price was outstanding, but the fewest runs he has ever let up in a playoff start is three. The asking price will be high, but the Cardinals may be one of the few teams that can afford him, and they will get him for more than a year.
I wanted to put Giancarlo Stanton here, but it looks like the Marlins might be too close to the rest of the pack in the NL East to be sellers this year. As for Gonzalez, he has been injury prone in his career, but they haven’t been structural injuries. He is currently recovering from having a tumor removed from his finger, he sprained a finger last season and he tweaked a hamstring in 2012. It will be interesting to see what the asking price would be for Gonzalez considering his recent injury history and his career splits (.990 OPS at home and .760 on the road).
3. Chris Carter
This may not sound like a big time move, but the Cardinals need someone to strike fear in the hearts of relief pitchers in late inning situations. This Pedro Cerrano-esque DH/1B could bring some scary power off the bench, or spell Matt Adams at first and allow him to come off the bench. The asking price shouldn’t be high considering his batting average is under .200, but he could excel in the right spot.