Why Cardinals’ Top Trade Candidate Isn’t In St. Louis Yet

The St. Louis Cardinals have a big offseason ahead of them.

First and foremost, Chaim Bloom is taking over as the team's president of baseball operations. Bloom has been in the organization in a different capacity this season mainly overseeing the farm system. It is John Mozeliak's final season in his role before Bloom fully takes over.

This is something that was shared a while ago, but the regular season is almost over and then Bloom's job will be to transform this organization to the contender of old. These last three seasons haven't gone as planned, to say the least. The Cardinals were among the top teams in the National League for the majority of the 2000s to this point, but the last few years have been different.

Chaim Bloom will have to make big decisions for the Cardinals this winter

St. Louis Cardinals executive Chaim Bloom — Aug 28, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Chaim Bloom, Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox on the field before the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

There are pieces for the Cardinals to build around, but St. Louis obviously will need to make some changes. It will be interesting to see how Bloom handles the offseason because it will be his first impression fully leading the team. When he took over the Boston Red Sox, he immediately was given a tough task and traded Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers. That's a deal that has been talked about at length ever since. He was given a tough hand but he completely rebuilt the Red Sox's farm system and now they are feeling the impact of that.

St. Louis could use more high-impact pitching specifically. Lefty starter Liam Doyle is the Cardinals' No. 2 prospect, but pitching in the minors remains a question mark. Quinn Matthews is the team's No. 5 prospect and should debut this season or next. Tekoah Roby is the team's No. 8 prospect, but he's injured. Tink Hence is at No. 12 but has had injury issues. One thing that could make sense for the Cardinals this winter is targeting more pitching prospects and one way the club could do this is looking to flip a catching prospect.

Right now, the Cardinals have Pedro Pagés, Yohel Pozo, and Iván Herrera all in the majors. St. Louis' No. 3 (Leonardo Bernal), No. 4 (Rainiel Rodriguez), and No. 6 (Jimmy Crooks) prospects are all catchers. They are not all going to make it to the Cardinals' roster. Crooks arguably would be the top trade candidate because he's closest to the big leagues. There could be a team out there looking for a starting catcher willing to give up pitching prospects. That's speculation, but could be a way to add for the Cardinals. There are going to be plenty of decisions to make this winter, and this could be one way to help.

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