Jul 18, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; American League catcher Jose Trevino (39) of the New York Yankees during batting practice at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The St. Louis Cardinals have a hefty wish list for the trade deadline. Many of those needs could be met through trading for some All-Stars.
The Cardinals are in the market for some pitching help, either starting or relief, and a catcher with some pop.
Losing Jack Flaherty until at least mid-August with shoulder issues to not getting any consistency from their relievers, the Cardinals have had some hits to their pitchers. The Cardinals will need to have some major help from their pitching staff if they want to compete for the postseason.
Yadier Molina is expected to go on a rehab assignment around the first week in August following an extended stay on the injured list that took him back home to Puerto Rico. In the meantime, the Cardinals have been trying to gain some consistency with who they have in Andrew Knizner, Austin Romine and Ivan Herrera.
Herrera, who was believed to be Molina’s heir-apparent, failed to gain the consistency many hoped he would and has returned to AAA Memphis. Knizner has been streaky but was on a roll just before the All-Star break. He, however, doesn’t have the defensive prowess of Molina. Romine has been a suitable backup. With so much really in flux, it would not be surprising to see the Cardinals find a top defensive catcher that can find consistency at the plate.
Let’s take a look at some All-Stars the Cardinals could trade to get.
3. Jose Trevino could be the catcher the Cardinals need
If the Cardinals were to acquire Trevino, they would have a few years of team control with him. He will be arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason and won’t be a free agent until 26.
At 29, Trevino has quite the resume this season with the New York Yankees. Trevino is hitting .251/.299/.415 with an OPS of .714, five doubles, a triple, seven home runs and 27 RBI. Defensively, Trevino has 15 defensive runs saved as the Yankees catcher. That’s really impressive for the first half of the season. Imagine him doing that for the Cardinals.
For almost two decades, Cardinals fans have seen nothing but excellence at the catching position thanks to Molina. Acquiring Trevino would just be a continuation of the excellence Cardinal fans want in their catcher.