The St. Louis Cardinals are once again stumbling a bit, having lost four consecutive games and fallen out of a wild card spot. The team was meant to be rebuilding this year anyway, but the fun may be starting to wear off a little bit.
If they want to add at the trade deadline, they will need controllable starting pitching. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic believes that St. Louis could accomplish this by trading from their depth of catching.
However, Randy Karraker of St. Louis Sports Central responded to that report with a brutal truth about where the Cardinals stand and what it’s going to take to get a controllable pitcher.
“Right now, what they have, and I’ll grant you that this is not a World Series championship rotation, but everybody except for (Dustin) May is controllable,” Karraker said.
“The question I would have for a team or for Ken Rosenthal, who is going to give up a front of the rotation guy with four years of control left that you already know is great for Leo Bernal or a package that includes Leo Bernal? I don’t think that if I were another franchise at the moment, I would give up that guy with four years of control because I think that’s harder find than the catcher is.”
His question: which team is actually giving up a front-of-rotation starter with years of control left?
How Cardinals Can Acquire Controllable Pitching
This does not mean that the Cardinals cannot acquire controllable starting pitching. They just likely will not be getting somebody who is already established. If they want more controllable arms, the best course of action is likely to sell at the deadline and sell high on the tradable pieces they have such as Dustin May, JoJo Romero, Ryne Stanek and Lars Nootbaar.
Perhaps the only way they will get a top-of-the-line pitching prospect that is major league ready is if they trade All-Star closer Riley O’Brien, and even getting a return like that for him might be a stretch given that the market is favoring buying teams this year.
But the Cardinals aren’t going big this year at the deadline. The focus is still going to be on the future, and that is where it needs to be right now. The Cardinals are not a World Series contender this season and likely won’t be for another couple of years, and Chaim Bloom would not be wise to rush the timeline of this rebuild just for short-term gratification, and he has constantly said that this is not his goal.
Other Ways Cardinals Can Add Controllable Pitching
While selling is likely their best path, they can buy another arm with years of control. However, fans shouldn’t expect that arm to be on the same level as Paul Skenes. If the Cardinals are going to trade a catcher to get a young starting pitcher, that pitcher will likely not be a top prospect, even with several years of team control.
But they can still add somebody with upside, though the best way to get the quality of arm they might be looking for might still be to sell high on their tradable pieces.
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