Though they have had a disastrous 2023 season and have already begun their trade deadline selloff, the St. Louis Cardinals are still looking to add some Major League ready pitching as it pertains to 2024.
On Sunday, the Cardinals traded Jordan Hicks to the Toronto Blue Jays and Jordan Montgomery to the Texas Rangers.
However, the only starters under team control for 2024 and beyond are Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz, and the Cardinals may want to add a starter to avoid having to fill three spots in free agency.
Cleveland Guardians writer Zack Meisel notes that the Guardians are shopping right-hander Aaron Civale.
On Twitter, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch pointed out that there could be a fit for Civale in the Cardinals rotation.
A starter with several years of control.
A starter with a wicked curveball.
A team looking for offense, young outfielders.
Ah, remember the days of the annual #stlcards-Cleveland deal? Set your watch by it …Interesting story by @ZackMeisel: https://t.co/w2aa0XNuRt
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) July 31, 2023
While the Cardinals are looking for pitchers with high strikeout rates, Civale would not be a bad pickup and could slot in as a back-of-the-rotation arm for St. Louis.
The right-hander also has a few seasons of team control left, which is what St. Louis is looking for.
Cleveland is in need of offense, particularly young controllable outfielders, and St. Louis has plenty of those.
Dylan Carlson and Alec Burleson are both pieces that contending teams could target.
The Cards could also look to trade somebody like Tommy Edman if they want a higher-end arm.
The Cardinals are once again at the bottom of the NL Central with a record of 47-60, and all hopes of returning to contention this year are essentially lost.
But their goal is to contend again in 2024.
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