Ranking the top 3 trade partners for Shohei Ohtani

2) Ranking the potential Ohtani trade partners: St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals were in the hunt for Juan Soto at the trade deadline and almost landed the young superstar. They have a team that just won the NL Central and can definitely use a guy like Ohtani to bolster their team.

St. Louis was tied for fifth in all of baseball in runs scored this season but their pitching wasn't quite as formidable. The team lacked a true ace and Ohtani would fill that role perfectly. Plus, can you imagine a 2-3-4 of Goldschmidt, Ohtani, and Arenado?

The Cardinals have the pieces necessary to get a deal done. Jordan Walker is one of the most exciting prospects in baseball and is ranked 6th on mlb.com's top 100 list. Guys like Masyn Winn and Matthew Liberatore are also exciting pieces. St. Louis has six top 100 prospects they can dangle in a trade.

The Cardinals also have some young talent on their MLB roster. Nolan Gorman showed a lot of promise as a young second baseman with power. Dylan Carlson has been a regular in the Cardinals outfield for a couple of years now. Juan Yepez showed potential as a power bat.

I have two concerns with the Cardinals. One, as a smaller market team will they be willing to pay him? Soto had more team control so it was easier to justify a trade for him than it is for a player with just one year of control. Also, will Ohtani want to be in St. Louis long-term? Those are questions that remain to be seen.

On the baseball side, this seems like a great fit for the Angels and Cardinals.