The St. Louis Cardinals have been mentioned as an obvious trade destination for Red Sox Lefty Chris Sale, but there’s a big reason why it doesn’t make sense.
Whenever rumors that the Boston Red Sox were willing to discuss a Chris Sale trade began to surface, one of the first potential touchdown spots and trade partners people considered was the St. Louis Cardinals.
Although the Redbirds have a solid starting staff, adding former Cy Young-winning southpaw to the mix after adding Jordan Montgomery at the trade deadline last season would be an exceptional move in theory.
However, you don’t have to dig too deep to see where it could be a bad idea either. In fact, there is only one obvious reason why the Cardinals need to steer clear of any Chris Sale trade.
St. Louis Cardinals: Simple reason not to trade Chris Sale
In essence, the reason the Cardinals should be wary of trading Chris Sale is among the reasons the Red Sox might consider dealing with him in the first place. When you ask the question of whether lefties can be counted on, it is difficult to answer an emphatic yes.
Sale has only started 11 times over the past three seasons after suffering a variety of injuries spanning from having Tommy John surgery, breaking his wrist on return, and a bike accident that ended his 2022 season, among other absences as well.
Now to be sure, he generally looks good when he’s on the field. Over those 11 starts, Sale has a 3.17 ERA with a 148+ ERA, so he’s got the job done. But how can a team, especially one with St. Louis aspirations, feel good about giving up the prospects of a big contract and a player who can’t stay on the field? This has been exacerbated by the fact that Sale will turn 34 on March 30 next year.
Finally, the idea of the Cardinals trading Chris Sale looks good on the surface. But when you look at the player who hasn’t climbed the hill enough to be the perennial All-Star and ace he has been in recent seasons, that idea starts to look less attractive.
[ad_2]
