Cardinals Should Take Up Lance Lynn on Last-Second Trade Idea

The St. Louis Cardinals have already made four major trades this offseason by moving on from Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray.

For most teams, a deal or two would be enough in an offseason. St. Louis has been ripping the band-aid off all offseason in Chaim Bloom's first offseason leading the organization. Rather than waiting around, the club has gotten done deals left and right to improve the long-term outlook of the franchise.

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Although it has been a busy offseason, former Cardinals fan-favorite Lance Lynn made the case for one more deal centered around JoJo Romero on "Cardinal Territory."

"I mean, if you're doing this whole thing, I would say that you should trade him because of how relievers can go," Lynn said. "They can go one year great, one year bad. If you look at it that way you're running a risk of if you're going to trade him at the deadline, or if that's the thought, or he's going to be a free agent, then you're getting no value for him if he has a bad, little stretch. But when the market is, alright there's probably still relievers you've got to sign.

The Cardinals should have one more move up their sleeve

Sep 16, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher JoJo Romero (59) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images | Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

"You're going to be kind of waiting for a team that didn't get what they wanted and/or in Spring Training a guy on a team that is going to be a contender gets hurt, okay that's when we might be able to strike. If you're fully on board with a rebuild, you trade for JoJo for the best piece you can get before the possibility of him having a down stretch and not having the value at the trade deadline."

Arguably, this is the path the club should take. Romero is a 29-year-old left-handed reliever coming off a season in which he logged a 2.07 ERA in 65 outings in 2025. It would be almost surprising if a contender didn't want to take him off the Cardinals' hands. As Lynn noted, the bullpen is volatile. Romero's 2.07 ERA was the best of his career and the only time in his six-year big league career that he finished a season with an ERA below 3.00. The Cardinals must cash in now before the value dips.

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