MLB Rumors: Cardinals are shopping Dylan Carlson to several teams

With the St. Louis Cardinals having already traded away the likes of Jordan Hicks and Jordan Montgomery, could one of their outfielders be next?

While Montgomery and Hicks were considered rentals, Dylan Carlson is not. St. Louis is stocking up their farm system with pitching — and ideally pitchers who are nearing the MLB level. Carlson has several years left on his contract and while he's having a down season by his standards, this is still the same player St. Louis was reluctant to include in trades for stars such as Juan Soto.

Baltimore has shown particular interest in Carlson, if only because of their obvious need in center field. Cedric Mullins is out with a groin strain, and Aaron Hicks is also on the injured list.

While Carlson can be locked up for the next three seasons in Baltimore, the Orioles don't need outfield help alone. In fact, their long-term outfield looks relatively decent. But pairing Carlson with, say, Jack Flaherty to increase the return makes far more sense than dealing him as a standalone.

As MLB trade rumors notes, "A speculative outfield of Hays, Mullins and Carlson would be defensively superior to the current alignment. Adding Carlson to the mix would also open further avenues for offseason deals…If Baltimore's interest in the Cardinals' pitchers extended beyond Montgomery, then it stands to reason that a deal surrounding Flaherty and Carlson could still be discussed."

The O's do not want to sell off any of their young talent, but perhaps they could afford to part with some farm system depth, or MLB-ready starting pitchers.

MLB Rumors: Are the Red Sox buying or selling?

Rafael Devers, for one, demands the Red Sox buy at the MLB trade deadline, but it's not so simple for Chaim Bloom.

"We would like them to reward us with a few good players coming in before the deadline. I think that's something we're looking forward to," Devers said.

That's a respectable way for the Boston star to go about his business. Whether Bloom agrees, however, is another question entirely. As well as the Sox have played over the last month, are they a World Series contender as constructed? And if not, are they merely one or two pieces away? Considering Bloom let Xander Bogaerts walk this past winter, it appeared at that time he was taking over a retooling of sorts.

Boston has proven him wrong. As it pertains to the Red Sox expiring assets, though, Bloom faces a taller task.

Alex Verdugo, for one, is under contract through 2024. However, he's been mentioned in trade chatter dating back to last week.

"Honestly, I don't care. I don't care," Verdugo said Sunday. "Whatever happens, happens. I really don't care about that stuff. I'm here playing, I'm with the Red Sox. I thought the same thing when I was with the Dodgers. I thought I wouldn't get traded and I ended up getting traded. This isn't my first time and I feel like once you get traded, you don't care. You don't care."

Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported the Sox are listening on Verdugo, a player Alex Cora called the best defensive right fielder in the majors just last week. He's making just over $6 million this season, and should receive far more in arbitration this offseason.

But is that really worth trading him away?

MLB Rumors: Grading the latest Braves trade

Alex Anthopoulos pulled off a minor miracle over the weekend — albeit a strange one. AA traded Taylor Hearn, whom the team had just acquired six days prior, for infielder Nicky Lopez. The Royals infielder can play three positions well, shortstop, second base and third base, and is signed through the 2025 season.

Lopez doesn't offer much with his bat. He has posted a .567 OPS over the last two seasons. That's a far cry from his 3.8 bWAR in 2021. Yet, if any team can fix a player at the plate, it's these Atlanta Braves.

Hearn was initially acquired as a bullpen addition for the Braves, but considering they were also able to claim Rowan Wick and trade for Pierce Johnson, they could afford to let Hearn go after a bad outing.

The Athletic graded this trade a B for Atlanta due to the defensive versatility Lopez can offer them as a backup infielder. It also suggests that a player like Vaughn Grissom won't have much of a role for the Braves the rest of the season, or that he's getting traded.

As for Kansas City, this is a bit of a head-scratcher. Rather than take a flyer on a young minor-league arm, for example, KC opted to trade for a well-known relief pitcher coming off a bad outing. Hearn's unlikely to last long with the Royals, and in that sense it seems like KC just gave away Lopez for free.