Potential Cardinals Trade Partner – Cleveland Guardians

photo: Aaron Civale (Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports)

St. Louis Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak has said the team will be sellers at the trade deadline while looking to add pitching that can contribute in 2024. As they decide who will stay and who will go, St. Louis might find a suitable trade partner in the Cleveland Guardians.

At 51-51, two games out in the AL Central and 5 ½ games back of a Wild Card, the Guardians are said to be on the fence as to being a buyer or seller. One thing is certain, however. They have immediate needs, including pitching, another bat in the lineup and maybe a catcher. St. Louis could meet those requirements in exchange for future pitching.

Although it’s hard to say exactly how a trade might form, here are some pitching pieces the Cardinals could ask for in return.

Aaron Civale

Civale is a 28-year-old right-hander who has pitched well for Cleveland since being pushed into a rotation beset by injuries. He is 4-2 on the season with a stellar 2.54 ERA. His last outing came against the Kansas City Royals in which he threw a solid eight innings of five hit, one run baseball that included five strikeouts against two walks.

In each of his five July starts, Civale has gone at least five innings and has not surrendered more than five hits in any of those outings. He also keeps the ball in the park allowing just one long ball over his last 31 1/3 innings of work. Possibly the most integral point is that he does not become a free agent until 2026.

Daniel Espino

The Panamanian native is at Double-A Akron trying to get healthy. The 22-year-old right-hander underwent shoulder surgery in early May and is not expected to pitch again till mid-2024. Having said this, before the injuries stacked up, he was good enough to be MLB Pipeline’s number 1 Guardians prospect and 14th on their overall Top 100 in 2023. In 2021, between Low-A and High-A, the righty struck out 152 in 92 1/3 innings. In 2022 before being shut down with patellar tendinitis, Espino had 35 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings.

Doug Nikhazy

Another Double-A pitcher, Nikhazy is a power pitching left-hander. In his short minor league career, the 23-year-old has struck out 217 batters in 173 2/3 innings of work. Starting 12 of 13 outings since May 5th, the Burlington, NC native has given up three hits or less in 10 of those appearances. His strikeout to walk ratio is almost 3:1.

Joey Cantillo

Cantillo opened the season at Double-A Akron but pitched well enough to be promoted to Triple-A Columbus. At 23 years old, the lefty has endured some growing pains with the Clippers. His overall numbers, although not overpowering, are respectable for a young hurler. In 2023 to date, he has tossed 68 2/3 innings with 88 strikeouts against 43 walks. Opponents are hitting .224 against the Hawaiian native.

Over the course of his minor league career since being a 16th round pick in 2017, Cantillo has been impressive. He has a 2.78 ERA with opponents hitting just .195 against him. Striking out 415 in 311 innings, Cantillo would be an enticing piece to add to the upper levels of the Cardinals organization.

Whether Cleveland is inclined to deal any or all of these is a question, as well as if St. Louis would be interested, but that’s what makes trade deadline speculation so much fun.

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