St. Louis Cardinals in Talks to Acquire Pablo Lopez from Miami Marlins

The St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins have engaged in 'at least preliminary trade discussions,' about a potential trade centered around starting pitcher Pablo Lopez, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reports.

The St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins have engaged in 'at least preliminary trade discussions,' about a potential trade centered around starting pitcher Pablo Lopez, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reports.

The Cardinals have a surplus of outfielders that they could include in a potential trade, and the Marlins are looking to improve their offensive output in 2023.

Per Rosenthal, Lars Nootbaar might be the best fit for the Marlins, but the club has been more open to potentially dealing Dylan Carlson than it had been in years past. Nootbaar is under club control for the next five seasons through 2027, while Carlson is under club control for four more years, through 2026.

Tyler O'Neill is coming off a down year, and has just two years left of club control. He appears to be the outfielder that has the least amount of trade value.

Rosenthal noted that the last time the Marlins and Cardinals made a major trade, it didn't go well for St. Louis, when they sent Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen, Daniel Castano and Magneuris Sierra to Miami for Marcell Ozuna.

Four of the Cardinals' starting pitchers — Jack Fleharty, Miles Mikolas, Jordan Montgomery and Adam Wainwright — are entering the final year of their contracts in 2023. The Cardinals have pitching depth, however, with Steven Matz and Dakota Hudson returning from injuries, and promising Matthew Liberatore coming up through their pipeline.

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