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The St. Louis Cardinals are looking to move outfielder Dylan Carlson and right-hander Giovanny Gallegos, reports Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Cardinals need to make some room on the roster after trading Tommy Edman and acquiring Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham.
Carlson May Be the Odd Man Out
John Denton of MLB.com reported on X that the Angels, Nationals, and Guardians are interested in Carlson. However, Cleveland might be out of the mix since they just acquired Lane Thomas from Washington. The young switch hitting outfielder has had a tough time getting playing time due to multiple injuries and the emergence of the slick fielding Michael Siani. Additionally, he finds himself behind the likes of Alec Burleson, Brendan Donovan, and Lars Nootbaar on the depth chart. The addition of Pham just pushes him further down and increases the likelihood of being traded.
Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reported that Mozeliak had this to say about Carlson’s situation. “Right now, he’s still one of our outfielders, but clearly we’re gonna have a roster crunch at some point. So we’ll use the next 24 hours to see what happens, but he’s still a part of our organization right now, and we’ll see where that goes.”
Cardinals Selling Low
Once again, it seems the Cardinals overvalued a player and are now being forced to sell at a low value. However, their valuation of him was understandable. Carlson was a first round pick with a great work ethic and a level head. Additionally, in 2021, he had a strong showing. The youngster put up a respectable .266/.343/.537 slash line with 18 homeruns and 65 RBI’s. Furthermore, he graded well on defense and had a 2.4 fWar. It seemed that the young outfielder was poised to take the job in right field for the Cardinals, but it never materialized.
Injuries Derail Carlson’s Development
Carlson has repeatedly been derailed by injuries and hasn’t been able to regain his footing. In the 2022 season, he had two separate stints on the injured list due to a left hamstring strain and a left thumb strain that undoubtedly affected his performance at the plate. He only managed a slash line of .236/.316/.380 in 2022, which was a regression across the board.
During the 2023 season, he suffered from ankle issues and was sent the injured list multiple times. The injuries limited him to only 76 games. Understandably, he saw a further drop in production, putting up a poor .219/.318/.333 slash line. It’s likely that if he could have avoided the injury bug he could have had a nice bounce back season, but it wasn’t meant to be.
It seemed Carlson was going to have an opportunity to right the ship at the beginning of the 2024 season. Edman and Nootbaar were on the injured list to start the season, which was going to give him an opportunity, but the injury bug hit Carlson once again. Unfortunately, at the end of Spring Training, he was involved in a collision with Jordan Walker. The young outfielder was diagnosed with a sprained AC joint and had to start the season on the injured list as well. He was able to return by the beginning of May but wasn’t able to get much playing time. Furthermore, when he has been in the line-up, he hasn’t hit well enough to earn any more time. The youngster has a paltry .198/.275/.240 slash so far this season.
Change of Scenery Could Help
There’s a chance that some clubs may think all he needs is a change of scenery. The Cardinals’ recent track record with outfielders has been poor, to say the least. It seems like every outfielder they move elsewhere flourish once they leave the organization, and the same may happen with Carlson. He has the tools and may just need some consistent playing time and better luck where injuries are concerned. Additionally, he has a small salary, two years of control left, and options remaining, which could make him desirable for other clubs. Especially if they think his regression was due to injuries and nothing more.
Cardinals Looking to Move Gallegos
Once again, the Cardinals will be selling low if they can move Gallegos. The righty was a solid reliever for the club from 2019-2022. He threw 228.1 innings with a 2.84 ERA over that time period. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Gallegos has had a steep decline over the past two seasons. His ERA jumped to 4.42 last year and has ballooned to 6.53 this year. Furthermore, the organization doesn’t doesn’t have much of a choice where selling low is concerned. The reliever is a pending free agent, and they have already designated him for assignment.
Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reported that the Dodgers are interested in Gallegos. There’s a chance that the Dodgers think they can get Gallegos back on track. Obviously, the Cardinals won’t be getting much in a trade for the reliever at this point and will likely take whatever they can get.
Cardinals’ Front Office Keep Making the Same Mistakes
The Cardinals’ front office has repeatedly made one poor decision after another in regard to which players to keep and which ones to move on from. They seem to overvalue prospects and trade the wrong players, especially where the outfield is concerned. If they don’t change their ways, they will continue to be a mediocre team chasing the Wild Card spots. There needs to be significant changes made at the top and with their talent evaluation if they want anything to change. The Cardinal fan base deserves better.
