5 trade targets from the St. Louis Cardinals for the Colorado Rockies

St. Louis Cardinals infielder Tommy Edman would be a great fit for the Colorado Rockies

St. Louis Cardinals infielder Tommy Edman would be a great fit for the Colorado Rockies for a few reasons.

Edman, 26, made his debut with the Cardinals in 2019 and since then, he has been a good and versatile player for them. In 2021, he played in 159 games and he hit .262/.308/.387 with 41 doubles, 11 homers, and 56 RBI with an OPS+ of 93.

Defensively, he had 7 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), which was good enough for him to get the Gold Glove Award at second base. That also helped him get an rWAR of 3.7.

In 55 games in 2020, Edman hit .250/.317/.368 with seven doubles, five homers, 26 RBI, and an OPS+ of 90. He had 8 DRS, which helped him get an rWAR of 1.2.

In 2019 (his rookie season), Edman played in 92 games after he was called up in June and he hit for a higher average as he hit .304/.350/.500. He had 17 doubles, 11 homers, 36 RBI, and an OPS+ of 122. He had 13 DRS, which helped get his 3.9 rWAR.

The Rockies love their versatile players and Edman fits that mold. While he won the Gold Glove award at second base in 2021 (and they easily could plug him in there), Edman has played over 60 games at third base, right field, more than a dozen games at shortstop, and a handful of games in left and center in his MLB career.

It should be noted too that Edman is from the San Diego, California area, where Rockies manager Bud Black is from as well and he has been able to bring in a few players to the Rockies with San Diego ties.

With his controllability (he’s not even eligible for arbitration yet) and the Cardinals being playoff contenders, they are very unlikely to trade him but he would definitely be a fit in more ways than one.

St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong is much more likely to be traded and the Colorado Rockies would be a fit

Someone that is much more likely to be traded this offseason (whenever the lockout ends) is St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong and he would be a fit with the Colorado Rockies.

The Rockies will almost certainly lose Trevor Story in free agency and they will need someone to replace him either at shortstop or in the infield and move someone else (like Ryan McMahon or Brendan Rodgers) to shortstop.

DeJong, 28, really struggled at the plate in 2021 as, in 113 games, he had 19 homers and 45 RBI but a slash line of just .197/.284/.390 and an OPS+ of 86.

In 2020, he had similar numbers as, in 45 games, he had three homers and 25 RBI with a .250/.322/.349 slash line and an OPS+ of 87. In 2019, though, DeJong was an All-Star as he hit 30 homers and had 78 RBI in 159 games with a .233/.318/.444 slash line with an OPS+ of 99.

Defensively, he had 6 DRS in 2021, 0 DRS in 2020, and 24 DRS in 2019. In 2019, with those defensive numbers, his rWAR was 5.7.

If DeJong could have that production at the plate and defensively, he could be a great asset for the Rockies or, even better, have his 2018 (102 OPS+) or 2017 (121 OPS+).

DeJong is locked up for the next two seasons for a combined $15.33 million and there are two team options for a combined $27.5 million after. Considering his struggles, the Cardinals should pay for some of the guaranteed years but if he can be a 5-6 WAR player like he was in 2019, then he will be well worth the team options, and the Rockies could foot the tab for them.

The Colorado Rockies have already liked St. Louis Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson for years now.

Two years ago (minus a week), Kevin Larson of Rox Pile examined a recent trade idea that was being bandied about that the time between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Colorado Rockies. The two clubs were discussing a trade for Nolan Arenado and, eventually, the Cardinals did get their man but in the 2019-2020 offseason, the two teams were discussing starting pitcher Dakota Hudson. The Rockies still should be considering him now.

Hudson, 27, has barely pitched in the last two years as he was out with Tommy John surgery, which he had at the end of September 2020. However, he is healthy again as he pitched in two games for the Cardinals at the end of the season.

Hudson was the Cardinals’ #4 prospect entering the 2019 season, which was just ahead of infielder Elehuris Montero, who the Rockies acquired from the Cardinals in the Arenado deal. He has a very good fastball with three average to above-average secondary pitches and a slightly below-average curveball.

For the Rockies, part of the reason why they were interested in him two years ago and why they are interested in him now is his very high groundball rate. The Rockies starting rotation has been good in recent years (and, particularly, at Coors Field) because high groundball rates. Since 2019 (minimum 300 innings pitched), the Rockies had three starters in the top 17 in groundball rates.

Among all pitchers with at least 200 innings pitched since 2019, Hudson’s groundball rate is third-highest at 57.2 percent.

Hudson is entering the first year of arbitration.

St. Louis Cardinals reliever T.J. McFarland would give the Colorado Rockies a veteran lefty in the bullpen.

The Colorado Rockies are in desperate need of some bullpen help. They also are lacking in the left-handed reliever department as rookies Lucas Gilbreath and Ben Bowden were the only lefties to pitch in the bullpen in 2021. St. Louis Cardinals reliever T.J. McFarland would fill that need.

McFarland, 32, has spent parts of nine seasons in the majors but 2022 would just be McFarland’s second with the Cardinals. In 2021, he started out the season with the Washington Nationals but they decided to use him in Triple-A. After struggling there, he was granted his release and signed with St. Louis on July 1. After he joined them, he appeared in 38 games at the MLB level and he had a 2.56 ERA (153 ERA+). He had a 3.79 FIP, a 1.06 WHIP, and he averaged 2.1 walks and 4.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

He has never been a strikeout pitcher as his career average is only 5.3 strikeouts per nine innings but he is an extreme groundball pitcher. Among relievers with at least 100 innings pitched since 2019, McFarland’s groundball rate is fifth-highest at 63.9 percent.

His problem in his career has been a high hit rate (10.2 H/9) but it was at its lowest ever in 2021 at 7.4 H/9.

McFarland resigned with the Cardinals on a one-year deal so you would think that they wouldn’t trade him but since it’s only a one-year deal and he’s a reliever, it may be unlikely but definitely not surprising.

St. Louis Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks would be a good fit for the Colorado Rockies bullpen

St. Louis Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks would be a good fit for the Colorado Rockies bullpen.

Like Hudson, Hicks, 25, has not pitched much in the last two years since he had Tommy John surgery and elbow inflammation. Hicks also opted out of the 2020 season due to the pandemic and him having type I diabetes. Hicks returned in 2021 to pitch in a handful of games (with limited success) but what he did in 2018 and 2019 is what should intrigue the Rockies.

In 2018 (his rookie years), Hicks appeared in 73 games and he had a 3.59 ERA with six saves. He had an ERA+ of 108, a FIP of 3.74, and a WHIP of 1.339. In 2019 before having to have Tommy John surgery in June, he had a 3.14 ERA in 29 games as the Cardinals’ closer. He had 14 saves, a 135 ERA+, and a 0.942 WHIP.

Hicks is known for his great fastball as, in 2018, he tied the MLB record for throwing a fastball at 105.1 MPH and, in 2019, his average velocity on his fastball was 101.1 MPH, which was the highest in baseball.

He also has a sinker that frequently is over 100 MPH. That helped him have a 63 percent groundball rate, which is 7th-highest among relievers since 2018. He is entering his second season of arbitration.

Our trade target series is done in the NL Central and next, we will head to our last division: the NL West and the Arizona Diamondbacks.