MLB rumors: Former Cardinal could get in way of John Mozeliak's trade plans
The St. Louis Cardinals have to be one of the biggest disappointments of the 2023 season. Even though their run in the postseason lasted a total of two games, the expectation was that the Cardinals would be one of the prominent contenders in the National League.
Instead? They are 40-53 on the year and sitting in last place in the NL Central division. During the All-Star break, team president John Mozeliak revealed that he plans on retooling the roster with an eye for the 2024 season at this year's trade deadline. With the Cardinals as sellers, they will no doubt look to bring in some top prospects for their players.
The Cardinals do have some outfielders that could help out those making a push for the playoffs. One of the more notable links this season has been Tyler O'Neill to the New York Yankees. Let's not forget that last year both teams traded with one another, with outfielder Harrison Bader heading to New York and starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery heading to St. Louis.
Well, the Cardinals could potentially lose the Yankees as a trade partner.
According to MLB Network insider Mark Feinsand, the Yankees are not only interested in Cody Bellinger from the Chicago Cubs but also Randal Grichuk from the Colorado Rockies. Of course, Grichuk is a former Cardinals outfielder.
Grichuk is entering the final year of his contract. He can play left field, which is what the Yankees desperately need, and that's not an overstatement. While he is a righty bat, not the lefty bat they need as well, he fills an immediate need.
This season, Grichuk played in 55 games as of the morning of July 17, where he recorded a .300 batting average, a .364 on-base percentage, a .473 slugging percentage, five home runs, 22 RBI, 33 runs scored, and 61 hits.
With this report, this does put the Cardinals at risk of losing the Yankees as a trade partner. Especially since they were linked to their No. 13 prospect, right-handed pitcher Clayton Beeter, by Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Reds answer disappointing Brewers sweep with the promotion of top prospect
The Cincinnati Reds had to be feeling good about themselves heading into the 2023 All-Star Break. They were 50-41 on the year and sitting in first place in the NL Central. Let's just say that no one was expecting this kind of start for the Reds. But calling up prospect Elly De La Cruz has provided a spark to the team and helped contribute to their run to first place since his call-up in June.
However, the Reds have fallen back to Earth as of late. In a pivotal three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Reds were swept. Not just swept, but were held scoreless in the first two games of the series.
What do the Reds do to put this string of losses behind them? Well, how about calling up another top prospect?
FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray reported that Cincinnati was calling up their No. 5 prospect Christian Encarnacion-Strand. That news was confirmed by Encarnacion-Strand's agency, Munger English Sports Management.
Encarnacion-Strand was acquired by the Reds last year at the trade deadline from the Minnesota Twins in a trade package for pitcher Tyler Mahle. While he is listed as a third baseman, he played the majority of this season at first base in Triple-A Louisville.
In 67 games, Encarnacion-Strand recorded a .331 batting average, .405 on-base percentage, a .637 slugging percentage, 20 home runs, 62 RBI, 65 runs scored, 92 hits, 69 strikeouts, and 33 walks in 278 at-bats.
Encarnacion-Strand has been tearing it up at Triple-A, and the Reds decided the time was now for him to make his major league debut and to help them string up some wins to get past the Brewers.
Yankees' trade deadline question could be answered from within
The New York Yankees' roster construction by general manager Brian Cashman had come into question in recent years. Of course, that has now been highlighted with star outfielder Aaron Judge out since June with a torn ligament in his right big toe, with no firm timetable for a return. The Yankees' bats have struggled, resulting in the firing of hitting coach Dillon Lawson and bringing in Sean Casey from MLB Network to replace him. But, a new hitting coach wasn't going to result in an immediate success rate.
On Sunday, the Yankees lost 8-7 to the Colorado Rockies in extra innings to not just lose the game, but also the series. Losing to a team with the worst record in the National League should be a wake-up call and cause the team to be more urgent.
Even though the team has stressed that they have a championship-caliber roster, their trade deadline plans say otherwise.
According to MLB Network insider Mark Feinsand, the Yankees are not only looking for a corner outfielder at the Aug. 1 deadline, but also looking to upgrade catching, starting pitching, and the back end of the bullpen.
The Yankees' reported interest in catching help isn't totally out of the question, considering Jose Trevino and Kyle Higashioka have been unable to produce at the plate. But, the Yankees do have an internal option to address this need — prospect Austin Wells.
Back in 2020, the Yankees selected Wells in the first round out of the University of Arizona. He is currently the team's second-best prospect in the farm system behind outfielder and fellow Double-A Somerset teammate Jasson Dominguez. But, he is most known for helping Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe fix his batting stance over chicken parmigiana dinner which, resulted in success. Putting that aside, Wells is showing that he is major-league-ready.
In 55 games with Somerset this season, Wells recorded a .247 batting average, a .335 on-base percentage, a .465 slugging percentage, 11 home runs, 27 runs scored, 50 RBI, 53 hits, 56 strikeouts, and 29 walks in 215 at-bats. Behind the plate, Wells posted a .980 fielding percentage while recording 378 putouts, 13 assists, and eight errors on 399 total chances.
At this stage, if the Yankees are unable to find a better-hitting catcher on the trade market, they shouldn't force the issue. Call up Wells and see what he can do.