St. Louis Cardinals rumors: What would a Matt Carpenter trade look like?
As St. Louis Cardinals rumors actively circulate around trading away pieces, could they consider moving their best offensive player?
The St. Louis Cardinals are working through a rare season in recent Cardinals history. They’ve experienced very public clubhouse division, a managerial dismissal, and for the first time in a long, long time, they are selling off pieces at the trade deadline, leading to a slew of Cardinals rumors on who could be moved next.
Reportedly unable to get any interest at all in trading him, the St. Louis Cardinals recently designated Greg Holland for assignment after giving Holland a pro-rated salary of $14 million on Opening Day. That move proved extra brutal as the Cardinals lost a draft pick in order to sign Holland.
The St. Louis Cardinals also traded reliever Sam Tuivailala to the Seattle Mariners and designated reliever Tyler Lyons for assignment.
Now that the team is in a sell mode, could Cardinals rumors possibly turn their focus on their top hitter, third baseman Matt Carpenter?
Carpenter is signed through 2019 with a 2020 team option that guarantees him $16.75 million and can be worth $33.25 million, which is certainly reasonable, so money won’t hold up a deal.
In 2017, Carpenter had his worst season of the past few years, but that’s definitely not in play this year, as Carpenter has been one of the best hitters in the league, hitting .272/.382/.574, and going on a monster power streak recently to bring him to an NL-leading 31 doubles and 25 home runs on the year.
The most impressive thing about Carpenter’s 2018 is that he’s played predominantly third base after spending the majority of 2017 at first base. This season, Carpenter has played predominantly third base, and he’s played it well. While he’s always been a fringe-average defender at third or first, he has shown himself to be a positive defender at third base in 2018.
Who could be interested in Carpenter
Teams looking for a third baseman or a first baseman would be interested in Carpenter, and while there have been a few moves on that front, there are still openings. The Braves, Red Sox, Mariners, and Yankees would all be contenders that would be interested.
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What could the St. Louis Cardinals get in return?
The Cardinals have a split farm system with high-floor prospects in AA/AAA who have really developed into what they will be as big leaguers, then they have players in lower levels with incredible ceilings needing to develop. They have prospect depth, though probably not considered one of the top 10 farm systems in the game.
The St. Louis Cardinals in moving Carpenter would be putting the best piece onto the market with some control that can handle third base and/or first base. That would allow them to set their asking price for him fairly high, likely in the range of one elite (think top 50 overall) prospect or a collection of more far-away, high-ceiling prospects.
One team that could be interested would be the Braves. With a very deep farm system, the Braves could definitely put up the prospects to make the move. The Cardinals could push to get someone like Ian Anderson or Kyle Wright as a solo return (or with international money added or a low-level prospect). Another package that would fit more of the collection of lower-ranked prospects would be something along the lines of Travis Demeritte, Bryse Wilson, and Derian Cruz.
Next. Holland could signal the end for Cardinals. dark
So what do you think? Should the St. Louis Cardinals make the move to trade away Matt Carpenter? Are the Cardinals rumors of a tear down overreach based on a few reliever deals? Comment below!!