The St. Louis Cardinals are currently cruising through the season. With the best record in baseball, they certainly do not have many holes to fill in the roster as the MLB trade deadline quickly approaches. However, that is certainly not stopping them for looking around for a few upgrades. With some inconsistency at short stop, Angles' Erick Aybar has become a target.
The Cardinals started off the season by losing Rafael Furcal for the entire year when he got injured during spring training. Pete Kozma has been starting in his spot and while he has not played poorly, the Cardinals are in search of something better. Kozma is currently batting .239 with 31 RBI. St. Louis can find better.
The team first reached out to the White Sox about the availability of Alexei Ramirez, but was denied. Then they called over to the Philadelphia Phillies to check in about Jimmy Rollins. The Phillies are currently hitting rock bottom as a team and many believed they were in a sell-now type of mood. However, that request did not get past Rollins who refused to waive his no-trade clause, claiming unfinished business in Philadelphia.
"There are still a couple things I would like to be number one on the lists of in this organization," Rollins said, "so until those things are done, I'm not going anywhere."
So there goes that idea. So now the Cardinals have moved on to Aybar. CBSSports.com reports that the Cardinals and the Angels have been in touch with each other about a potential trade. The Angels are willing to send Aybar on his way, but they might be asking for too much from the Cardinals. Los Angeles wants to load up on young pitching prospects, something St. Louis has plenty of. However, the Cardinals have been reluctant to trade away some of their youth, but the Angels are not budging.
ESPN reports Los Angeles wants Carlos Martinez or Michael Wacha, along with Kozma in a trade. That is a pretty lofty and the Cardinals are not looking to jump on it. If this trade is going to happen, the Angels will have to lower the price tag a bit.
Several teams have been inquiring about the Angels infield, but the team does not have much depth behind Aybar at short stop, making their demands for the player pretty high. At 29, Aybar is batting .280 on the season with 37 RBI and four home runs. The Angels are 48-56 in what has become a disappointing season.