Cardinals Reportedly Interested In Trading Young Outfielder To Bolster Rotation
The St. Louis Cardinals have an exciting young core of outfielders and are so strong in that position group that they reportedly would be willing to deal one to strengthen an area of need.
If St. Louis did decide to part ways with one of their five major-league caliber outfielders, Tyler O'Neill would be the logical asset to trade -- even more so after the ongoing drama between him and manager Oliver Marmol.
According to one of the best reporters in the game, O'Neill already has been shopped around.
"The Cardinals did not want to sell low on outfielder Tyler O’Neill over the winter, not after he appeared in only 96 games last season and batted .228 with a .700 OPS," The Atheltic's Ken Rosenthal wrote Thursday. "But if manager Oli Marmol was going to get down on O’Neill for failing to hustle in only the fifth game of the season, maybe the team should be more open to trading him, or one of their other outfielders, for a starting pitcher."
While this first quote by Rosenthal appears more speculatory than informative, he later revealed that a trade with O'Neill already has been discussed.
"O’Neill’s combination of power and speed makes him that rare player capable of hitting 30 homers and stealing 30 bases in a season," Rosenthal said. "The Cardinals discussed him with the (Miami) Marlins, among other teams. But depending upon how he responds to Marmol’s criticism, they are risking devaluing him further."
The Cardinals currently roster O’Neill, Lars Nootbaar, Dylan Carlson, Alec Burleson and Jordan Walker.
Nootbar's stint on the injury list could complicate matters in the short term but a trade this early in the season would be unlikely anyway.
What the Cardinals could desperately use is starting pitching. Miles Mikolas and Steven Matz are the only starters under team control next season and their rotation is not exactly loaded at the moment either.
O'Neill likely could be used as a trade chip for a quality rental but one of the other young stars could be a centerpiece in a trade for a controllable frontline starter -- though it's pretty clear that Walker is untouchable.
More MLB: Cardinal's Tyler O'Neill Takes Subtle Shot At Manager Oli Marmol As Feud Heats Up
