Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Should Pursue Huge Trade For $108 Million Ace

The Cardinals could use some controllable pitching to replace their expiring pitchers.
Zach Pressnell|
Apr 22, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners starter Luis Castillo (58) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
Apr 22, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners starter Luis Castillo (58) delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

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The St. Louis Cardinals are in a bit of a predicament, and it's caused their trade deadline plans to look a bit foggy.

St. Louis' roster is built to be rebuilt. It doesn't have the talent it would take to win a World Series this season, but the team is winning enough right now to fight for a postseason spot.

What do you do if you have enough talent to fight for the postseason, but not enough talent to realistically top the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, or San Diego Padres?

The correct answer would be somewhere in the middle of contending and rebuilding. They shouldn't go all out for expiring players like the Dodgers likely will and they shouldn't trade every player possible like the Miami Marlins did last season.

This idea could like the Cardinals up to trade away somebody like Erick Fedde or Ryan Helsley while looking to acquire Seattle Mariners ace Luis Castillo.

Castillo is under contract through the 2027 season with a vesting option in 2028. This would put him on the Cardinals roster for the next two and a half years, which is plenty long enough for the team to be built around him to win.

Castillo has been excellent again this season, holding a 3.20 ERA over 10 starts and 56 1/3 innings. The righty has consistently been a top pitcher for quite some time now.

The Cardinals would need to trade away a decent prospect haul to land him, but if they're bringing in a lot of talent by trading away Fedde and Helsley, the team shouldn't have an issue with the prospect return to land Castillo.

More MLB: MLB Writer Bashes Cardinals Star, Suggests Blockbuster Trade

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Zach Pressnell
ZACH PRESSNELL

Zach Pressnell has experience covering all major US sports at both the professional and collegiate levels. He’s produced content for FanSided, Blog Red Machine, The Game Haus, Bethany College Athletics and the Bethany College online newspaper, He graduated from Bethany College (WV) with a degree in Communications and Media Arts, specializing in Sports Journalism. Pressnell was also a four-year member of the baseball team where he earned himself All-PAC recognition as a pitcher (and a cool Tommy John surgery scar). Now, Pressnell specializes in NFL and MLB coverage for Sports Illustrated’s “On SI” network among others. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "St. Louis Cardinals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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