Why Cardinals–Yankees Trade Makes Too Much Sense This Summer

The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees look like they would align well on a deadline swap.

May 8, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; General view of a New York Yankees hat and glove prior to the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

When the 2026 Major League Baseball trade deadline gets here this summer, there's certainly a way the St. Louis Cardinals could add talent without limiting the club this season.

Before the season, the talk around St. Louis was about how guys like Dustin May, Lars Nootbaar, JoJo Romero, and others, could traded be gone by the time the summer came around. That could still be the case, but if the Cardinals traded these three specifcially, it would significantly impact the 2026 club and lower the team's chances of earning a playoff spot. Now, of course, the expectation coming into the season wasn't that the Cardinals would make the playoffs, but they have looked like a team of that caliber so far this season.

If the Cardinals didn't want to blow things up, there are ways they could toe the line and sell a few pieces and still have a good shot at making some noise this season. Romero is someone who could easily be a trade candidate because he's going to be a free agent after the season. Relievers typically do well at the deadline, so the Cardinals could look to flip him and then simply promote someone from Triple-A to replace him.

The Cardinals Have Options

Apr 27, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; St. Louis Cardinals catcher Pedro Pages (43) is congratulated in the dugout after hitting a solo home run off against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: David Dermer-Imagn Images | David Dermer-Imagn Images

Another area for the Cardinals to watch is the catcher position. St. Louis has a surplus of catcher talent. In the majors right now, the Cardinals have Jimmy Crooks, Iván Herrera and Pedro Pagés. Down in the minors, the Cardinals have No. 2 prospect Rainiel Rodriguez and No. 5 prospect Leo Bernal. Plus, veteran Yohel Pozo is down in Triple-A as well. St. Louis easily could trade a catcher and still be just fine in the majors. The team they should be circling right now is the New York Yankees. The Athletic's Chris Kirschner reported that they are looking for a right-handed-hitting catcher.

"But given their needs, it’s possible the Yankees will bring in an external catcher before the Aug. 3 trade deadline," Kirschner wrote. "According to multiple team sources who were granted anonymity so they could speak candidly, the Yankees are interested in adding a right-handed-hitting catcher before the deadline. They had high hopes for starting catcher Austin Wells entering this season, but he has been one of MLB’s most disappointing players."

Pagés and Herrera are both righty hitters. Don't expect to see Herrera on the move, obviously, Pozo also is a righty. If the Yankees want a righty catcher, the Cardinals have two veterans in Pagés and Pozo who could easily be moved without impacting the big league club too much.

The Yankees could use a catcher and St. Louis has plenty. The Cardinals could use more pitching prospects and New York has plenty. It certainly seems like these two teams could make sense as trade partners.