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St. Louis Cardinals: 3 Trade Candidates to Become Their New Closer

By Nick Reid

ST. LOUIS, MO - JULY 14: Jordan Hicks of the St. Louis Cardinals exits the game after allowing four run against the Cincinnati Reds in the seventh inning at Busch Stadium on July 14, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - JULY 14: Jordan Hicks of the St. Louis Cardinals exits the game after allowing four run against the Cincinnati Reds in the seventh inning at Busch Stadium on July 14, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Gerry Angus/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Gerry Angus/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

#2: Ken Giles, Toronto Blue Jays

Another closer the Cardinals could go after to make their own is Ken Giles of the Toronto Blue Jays. “100-Miles Giles” (though 99-Miles Giles is more realistic nowadays) has been the lone bright spot of an otherwise uninspiring Toronto bullpen going 12-for-13 in save opportunities, which would certainly be higher if it weren’t for a brief IL stint as well as the Jays sucking.

Giles has been incredible across the board, pitching to the tune of a 1.33 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 0.3 HR/9, 335 ERA+ (!!) and otherworldly 15.7 K/9 innings. After having trouble finding his footing with the Houston Astros at the beginning of last season, the 28-year old New Mexican is back to pitching at an elite level, and a microscopic 1.07 FIP suggests he’s even been a little unlucky.

If the Cardinals are looking to replace a flamethrower in Hicks with another flamethrower, Giles is their guy. Like Colomé, Giles isn’t a free agent until the end of 2020, and having him at the back of the bullpen for a year and a half would give St. Louis one of the NL’s most daunting bullpens especially when Hicks returns next season.

It depends whether the Blue Jays will want to trade Giles, as I mentioned earlier this month they only should if they receive a deal they can’t refuse because he’s under team control for another season and a half. However, with how good he’s been it seems like any team would give up a good amount to get him.

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