By Chris Brown – STL Baseball Today
July 26, 2016 at 5:41 pm CT
[Related: Trade Rumors: Team had interest in Tulo, latest on Lind and first base search, more]
It’s certainly not something you’d expect to hear from John Mozeliak, but the Cardinals GM said on KMOX prior to Sunday’s series finale against the Braves that the team is trying to make another trade before the upcoming July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
“We are certainly going to try and make a move before the deadline,” Mozeliak told John Kelly. He didn’t specify what type of player the club is most looking to acquire.
After the addition of former Marlins closer Steve Cishek from Miami just a few days ago, another addition to the bullpen doesn’t seem overly likely. A starting pitcher or first baseman have been the other heavily discussed areas of need for the team, however when asked about the idea of pursuing a starter on Friday by Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Mozeliak was “emphatic” that the team wasn’t in the market (via Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch). A report by Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal from Sunday also confirms the Cardinals are not in the hunt for starting pitching.
[Related: Cardinals have discussed first baseman Lind with Brewers]
With those previous comments in mind, it would appear that Mozeliak is most interested in adding a bat that can play first base. Adam Lind of the Brewers is one of the most-discussed options, and Orioles slugger Chris Davis is also a potential trade candidate after a report that Baltimore is giving “serious consideration” to becoming a seller. On MLB Network Radio Sunday, ESPN’s Jim Bowden predicted St. Louis as a landing spot for Davis if the Orioles decide to sell. Other speculative options at the position include Mike Morse (Marlins), Adam LaRoche (White Sox), Yonder Alonso (Padres), and Justin Smoak (Blue Jays).
With such strong words from Mozeliak, it seems likely the team will make at least one more move before the deadline. Will it be a major one? Probably not. Could it be for a player who’s not a first baseman? Definitely. Only time will tell.
But one thing is for sure. We’ll have the answer by 3 pm CT on Friday.
Feature image used under Creative Commons from John Max Mena. No changes made. Image license.
