The St. Louis Cardinals may target a trade with Ryan Howard, Justin Morneau, Adam Lind or Cole Hamels this season after dealing with injuries to Matt Adams and Adam Wainwright, as the first baseman went down with a torn quad and now likely will be out for the season, while Wainwright is already out for 2015 with an Achilles injury.
The Cardinals are the best team in baseball right now despite the injuries with 31 wins, but GM John Mozeliak may want to make some moves to stymie any regression due to the injuries. Wainwright has been out for a while already and the team has been able to stay afloat, but losing their everyday first baseman could be tough for the Cards. According to Hardball Talk, Adams is out for three to four months and could be done for the season.
Mozeliak confirmed the news and now the team could look at a trade option like Ryan Howard. The team has Mark Reynolds as an option, but he is a major downgrade from Adams, even with Adams not having a great season. Adams is a strong bat in the lineup even when he is not at his best and he also is very good against right-handed pitching. Adams comes in hitting .243 this season with four home runs and 20 RBIs.
Last season Adams had 15 home runs and his .288 and now the cardinals will need to find a replacement. The team has been playing very well and they could use Reynolds for now, but as Ken Rosenthal points out at Fox Sports, Ryan Howard likely will be available for the Phillies. Howard has 10 home runs this season and is hitting .256 with 24 RBIs. The Phillies are likely to trade Howard and Hamels this season, as they are in a hard rebuild.
Hamels is having a strong season and he comes in after having a great second half last year. The Cardinals could look at adding one of both of those players to help fill the injuries and as the trade deadline gets closer the pressure will be on a bit more. The Cardinals have a strong team and a good farm system and Mozeliak may not want to deplete that just to fill needs.
Hamels has been shopped for prospects and the Phillies have been asking for a lot, but they are also reportedly okay with taking on some money for Hamels' contract. Rosenthal writes that Justin Morneau and Adam Lind could be better options for the Cardinals, as they may not cost as much. Both the Rockies and Brewers are having very tough seasons.
