The St. Louis Cardinals missed the playoffs this season and will need to head back to the drawing board to build a team that can qualify for the postseason next year.
Moreover, the question is what moves they should make to improve the team to challenge the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.
It’s been a wild 2026 MLB season for Anthony Volpe, who was optioned to Triple-A in August and then recalled in September. Still, it might be in the 25-year-old’s best interest to get a fresh start elsewhere.
Since reaching the majors in 2023, Volpe has been hitting .225 with 432 hits, 54 homers, 218 RBIs, and 241 runs scored in 537 games for the New York Yankees in his career, per StatMuse.
Despite this production during his four seasons in Pinstripes, FanSided’s Robert Murray believes that the Cardinals could be the change of scenery that Volpe needs after a rollercoaster career with the Yankees.
“Anthony Volpe would be a really good, buy-low option for the Cardinals,” Murray wrote in a Sept. 19 article. “Volpe was supposed to be the Yankees’ long-term answer at shortstop. Instead, he struggled mightily and fluctuated between the majors and minors.
“The Yankees still believe in Volpe and want to hold him, so a trade might be considered unlikely. But this is something that other teams will sniff around this offseason, I believe, and Bloom – who has previously worked with the Red Sox and Rays – should have plenty of familiarity in dealing with the Yankees.”
Anthony Volpe Could Boost Trade Value In the Coming Weeks
Since being recalled on Sept. 9, Volpe has performed well. Entering Sept. 20, Volpe has been batting .290 with nine hits, a home run, seven RBIs, and four runs scored in seven games, per StatMuse.
Moreover, if Volpe can end the season on a high note and have a productive postseason, his trade value might increase, and a team like the Cardinals could feel they can tap into his potential.
Volpe will have an opportunity to step up like every Yankee in that lineup, given that Aaron Judge is back on the injured list. New York can’t replace Judge with one batter, but they can do so with everyone chipping in.
Cardinals, Yankees Get Compelling Trade Idea
Recently, Christopher Kline of FanSided floated a trade idea that would send Volpe along with LHP Brent Headrick and LHP Kyle Carr to the Cardinals for 24-year-old shortstop Masyn Winn.
“The Yankees’ lack of fundamental soundness on the defensive end has bitten them in the you-know-what all season, just like it did last year,” Kline wrote in a Sept. 16 article. “The hope was that top prospect George Lombard Jr. could steady the ship at shortstop, but he has stacked up errors left and right.
“It’s too early to write off the 21-year-old long term, but he could serve more comfortably at third or second — which is notable, since Jazz Chisholm Jr. is about to [be a free agent]. Winn immediately alleviates a ton of defensive issues for the Yankees, while his weaker bat would be well-protected in the American League’s most potent lineup.”
Cardinals Receive Strong Message Involving Yankees’ Anthony Volpe