With another poor start for the St. Louis Cardinals, is a Jordan Walker trade on the table?
The youngster has been the subject of trade talks throughout his young career and could easily be considered among the best young players in the MLB right now. But with St. Louis being a potential seller, Cardinals trade news is already flowing with Walker being a player that has been mentioned as a trade chip.
Is Jordan Walker a trade chip for the Cardinals?
The question is whether St. Louis will actually trade him. Are the Cards better off keeping him? What will be its value in the trade market? What teams might be interested in trading for him?
Let's take some time to explore the ins and outs of a potential Jordan Walker trade.
Time to sell?
The crux of the issue of selling Walker is whether or not the Cardinals are willing to part with him. The former first-round pick still has a huge upside, especially since he was just 21 years old at the start of the 2024 season. However, Walker's MLB statistics have been disappointing, and pale in comparison to the impressive numbers he posted in the minors.
When Walker appeared on the Opening Day roster in 2023, some predicted he would have one of the greatest rookie seasons ever. Instead, Walker was solid but unspectacular, batting .276 with 16 homers and 19 doubles, producing an OPS of .787. Most players would be willing to take a step forward this year, but in Walker's case, he fell flat on his face. In 20 games, he hit .155 with an OPS of .498, resulting in a demotion back to the minors.
These findings have raised questions about whether Walker should still be held in such high regard. Maybe he's not the valuable prospect the Cardinals once thought he was. Will he be able to respond to his struggles this season in a positive way? Meanwhile, Walker is probably young enough to still have good value as a trade chip.
Trading value?
If the Cardinals wanted to explore a trade involving Walker, what would his value be? It's certainly not as high as it was two years ago when he was a top-10 prospect in baseball. At the time, most teams would have jumped at the chance to acquire Walker and would have given up a proven commodity to get him.
But Walker isn't that shining prospect with endless potential anymore. Although he is still young and has several years of control over the team, the luster has been lost. That's what a .155 average and being demoted to the minors less than a month into the season does to a player, even a talented one. While Walker has hit for a high average, albeit with limited power, in Triple-A this year, if the Cardinals want him to regain some of his trade value, they will need to get him back to the major leagues and hope he produces .
Trade fit
The other reason the Cardinals would enjoy trading Walker is to help them fill holes in their organization. Specifically, the cards lack youth promotion. St. Louis' rotation is currently full of pitchers on the wrong side of the 30. Meanwhile, only four of the team's top 10 prospects are pitchers. Therefore, the Cardinals could use Walker as a trade chip to acquire young pitching, potentially making a deal with an organization that lacks talented young hitters.
The Mariners are an obvious candidate, as they have a large group of young arms in their rotation. However, Walker alone probably won't be enough to land one of them. The Padres, who have been aggressive in the trade market this season, have quality in their farm system. But they also want to win now, which Walker may not help them achieve.
An ideal trade partner for St. Louis might be the NL Central rival Pirates. Pittsburgh's farm system is full of talented pitchers, even if trading for Paul Skins or Jared Jones is unrealistic. The Buccaneers are also a team still building for the future. They could be receptive to using their surplus of small throws to take a chance on a striker like Walker. That doesn't mean a trade is in the works, but if the Cardinals want to trade Walker, a team like the Buccaneers might be a good fit.
