The MLB non-waiver trade deadline is today @ 3p CT.
The Cardinals will not make a big trade before then.
This isn’t a controversial statement. If you were to look at a the Cardinals 2016 objectively, you’d see a team that has many flaws, but none of them so glaring that a move – even for a superstar – would put them on par with Chicago, Washington or even San Francisco in the NL.
But that’s not the reason the Cardinals won’t be making a move today.
His recent sentencing by a federal judge cleared the way for Major League Baseball to mete out punishment to the Cardinals as an organization.
Now that Chris Correa's sentence has been levied, Major League Baseball plans to come down with punishment on the Cardinals for the hack.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 18, 2016
Many expect the punishment to be harsh. New commissioner Rob Manfred will set the tone of his tenure with this ruling and letting the Cardinals get off with a virtual wrist slap will do nothing positive for him.
He plans on sending a message.
And that message will surely include two things:
- A hefty fine
- Loss of draft picks
The former will not send the DeWitt family into a financial tailspin. Not all the powder will get wet. But the latter? Well, that’s the real wild card.
How many picks? How many premium picks? How many super-premium picks?
Maybe the Cardinals have been given guidance on what is forthcoming. Maybe they haven’t. It’s not something that the team will discuss until MLB announces their decision.
But without knowing for sure just how much their future drafts will be depleted, it’s hard to trade away any good prospects, let alone anyone in their top 10.
Guess what it takes to land top targets?
So while some seasons it’s fair to question if the Cardinals are making the right decisions at the trade deadline (which, on the whole have been mostly correct), this year they’re in a unique (and unenviable) position (which they put themselves in) of knowing that they’ll be shorthanded at the 2017 MLB draft. Maybe other years as well.
That’s the reason no big moves are forthcoming for the Cardinals.
The upside is you don’t have to be glued to Twitter this PM?
Photo: CBS STL
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