NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 18: Jordan Hicks #12 and Yadier Molina #4 of the St. Louis Cardinals in action against the New York Mets at Citi Field on May 18, 2022 in New York City. The Mets defeated the Cardinals 11-4. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Outside of Oakland A’s pitcher Frankie Montas, who else could the St. Louis Cardinals be looking into before the Aug. 2 trade deadline?
With a pitching staff in disarray due to injury, the St. Louis Cardinals will be looking for pitching before the Aug. 2 trade deadline. While Oakland A’s pitcher Frankie Montas might be outside the Cardinals’ price range, who else could they kick the tires on?
While their former All-Star Alex Reyes closer has been shut down again with a season-ending shoulder injury, it would seem they would need bullpen help, but Fandsided’s MLB Insider Robert Murray disagrees with this thought.
“Their greatest need may actually be in the rotation, where Steven Matz and Jack Flaherty are on the Injured List while reliever turned starter Jordan Hicks may soon transition back to the bullpen,” Murray reported.
Flaherty recently began throwing to batters again. Matz is still resting his arm before testing out his arm again. Hicks went on the injured list this week with right forearm soreness. According to Katie Woo of The Athletic, in his last start, Hicks struggled to command his fastball and issued four earned runs and five walks over three innings
In comments from Marmol to Woo, “When you evaluate (Hicks) start and he’s throwing more balls than strikes, or it’s close to 50-50, it’s just hard for him to sustain having any sort of longevity to that,” Marmol said. “It forces us to use our bullpen, and we have several starters that have forced that.”
Due to the lockout, teams are scrambling to make sure they have enough pitching and that those pitchers are doing what is necessary to help their team. The league announced it will allow teams to carry 14 pitchers through June 19. While this will provide help, the Cardinals are in desperate need of starters that can go longer innings.
While Frankie Montas seems like the top arm on many team’s wish lists, he may be out of the realm of possibility for the Cardinals based on what that A’s would want in return. Let’s take a look at some other options the Cards will kick the tires on prior to the trade deadline.