With the World Series near its end, the work is about to begin for the St. Louis Cardinals after a dreadful 71-91 season, their first losing season since 2007.
What ultimately sunk the 11-time World Series champions was their lack of pitching, and in order to bounce back into contention in 2024, they will need to explore all possible avenues to acquire the pitching they need.
To state the obvious, St. Louis needs at least three starters, two of which must be frontline starters.
They'll need to add via free agency and trades, but they'll need to pay a hefty price.
Here are three Cardinals who could be traded, and one who could surprisingly stay.
Alec Burleson should earn Cardinals some trade interest
In addition to acquiring pitchers, the Cardinals have other areas that they must address.
One such area is the logjam in the outfield. Alec Burleson showed plenty of promise this season at the plate. He hit just .244 with a .691 OPS over 315 at-bats, but knocked 29 extra-base hits and showed a stronger strikeout rate in comparison to limited plate appearances in 2022.
He alone will not get the Cardinals the type of pitching they need, but if he could be packaged in a deal with somebody like Nolan Gorman or Brendan Donovan, the Cardinals might be able to acquire a frontline pitcher such as Shane Bieber or Dylan Cease for the top of their rotation.
Nolan Gorman's rising star could make him great Cardinals trade bait
Gorman himself had a very good season at the plate, hitting .236 with 27 home runs and posting a WAR of 2.4.
But bold action must be taken for St. Louis to truly add value to their rotation. That means parting with somebody like Gorman is very much on the table.
The Cardinals are very fortunate to have plenty of depth on the position player side, which could be used to bring back starting pitching. As previously mentioned, Cease and Bieber are options, but the Cardinals could also look to the Seattle Mariners and seek out one of their young starters in Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo.
Gorman would certainly net them a very solid return as they look to strengthen their pitching staff for the 2024 season. They could then move Tommy Edman back to second base or give Brendan Donovan the job after the latter has recovered from Tommy John surgery.
Gorman is versatile in that he can play both second base and third base, but the Cardinals have plenty of players who can slot in at those positions and not enough pitching. The young slugger may in fact give them the best possible return.
Brendan Donovan could net the Cardinals a nice return too
Like Gorman, Donovan could get the Cardinals a very solid return if dealt.
Donovan can play all positions in the infield and the outfield and is essentially a Swiss army knife, not unlike Edman. He is yet another solid left-handed bat that can be used at the top of the lineup.
In addition to his hitting prowess and defensive versatility, he also possesses speed and is a former Gold Glove Award winner. He can bring a lot to the table for a team in need of position players.
As mentioned earlier, his season was cut short due to an elbow injury. St. Louis used him as a designated hitter exclusively for much of July until he was ruled out for the rest of the season on the day of the trade deadline.
Fortunately, that injury didn't seem to affect his hitting at all, which makes him an ideal candidate for a trade that could bring back some starting pitching help for the Cardinals to kick off the winter.
Donovan hit .284 with 11 home runs and 34 RBI before his season came to an abrupt end, but if healthy for a full season, he could be a valuable piece to have.
Tommy Edman could avoid being traded by the Cardinals
Edman is much like Donovan in that he can play everywhere in the infield and in the outfield. He also is a solid contact hitter who possesses a little bit of power and great speed.
The super utilityman won a Gold Glove in 2021 and is a finalist to win the award for utility players this year. But what makes him valuable is the fact that he is a switch hitter. A switch hitter that plays multiple positions doesn't come around too often.
But it is for this reason that he is the player St. Louis may want to hang onto. Nobody is untouchable as the Cardinals look for pitching, but Edman brings a lot of value to the Cardinals and would be tough to replace if traded.
2023 wasn't his best season by any means, as he hit just .248. But he still managed to hit 13 home runs and even made himself right at home at a new position in center field, which helped alleviate some of the stress put on the team by injuries to other position players.
