Must make trades for each National League Central team: St. Louis Cardinals
Trade idea: Acquire Madison Bumgarner
The St. Louis Cardinals seem to always be in the mix. While they haven’t officially won a title in a decade, they’ve consistently made deep playoff runs. This season, however, they’ve been up and down.
Currently, they’re floating just beneath the .500 mark and could be on their way to missing the postseason. With that said, they could turn their season around and become bonafide contenders if they can make some upgrades to their starting pitching. They’re a middle-of-the-pack team in terms of overall ERA (4.22).
Their usually effective bats have mostly been ineffective this year as they rank towards the backend of the league in batting average. While it may appear as though they need more help in that department, the Cardinals should look to bring onboard former ace, Madison Bumgarner.
Admittedly, Bumgarner hasn’t been the same since 2016 when his ERA routinely flew under 3.00. Even now, with an ERA over 5.50, Bumgarner can still help push the Cardinals over the hump. Could he be a shell of his former dominant self at this point? All signs point to that but he was once one of the game’s great pitchers. Maybe if he found himself on a playoff contender, he can recapture some magic.