The Cardinals have big problems at the back end of the starting rotation. With that in mind I think the Cardinals should go after Ben Sheets of the A’s. He is throwing the ball well and I think he would be better in the N.L. I would talk the A’s into paying Sheets the rest of the year and for that I would give them 25-year old righty swinging 3B Allen Craig and 26-year old righty swinging shortstop Tyler Greene. I know that Billy Beane (the A’s GM) would make that deal as Craig is his type of player. The Cardinals just need to go out and make this kind of deal happen because the Reds are the real deal.

UPDATE: (7/26/2010) - You can forget about Ben Sheets who has been placed on the D.L. with a elbow injury.

The Cardinals are 45-37 on the season which has them in 2nd place in the N.L. Central, 2 games behind the surprising Cincinnati Reds. I think the Cardinals will be in the market for a starting pitcher and either a starting 2B or SS this month. Roy Oswalt, Dan Haren and Cliff Lee are the top three available pitchers and the Cardinals will think of making an offer for them. But if they want to aim a tad lower they might be able to find a bargain. Jeremy Guthrie, Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook, Ben Sheets, Ricky Nolasco, Dave Bush, Ted Lilly, Brett Myers, Wandy Rodriguez, Edwin Jackson and Rodrigo Lopez could each be had if the price is right. The Cardinals should be looking for a starting SS or 2B to team with Felipe Lopez. Alex Gonzalez, Mike Aviles, Jhonny Peralta, Mark Ellis, Jose Lopez, Dan Uggla, Christian Guzman, Ryan Theriot, Kelly Johnson and Stephen Drew each could fill that void. The Cardinals usually don’t have to make moves unless they want to but this year is different as the Reds look pretty solid.

With Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse hurting a bit the Cardinals could be in the market for a starting pitcher. I would think that guys like Jake Westbrook, Gil Meche and Brett Myers would be likely targets. The Cardinals probably could get any of those three guys and enough cash to play them the rest of the year for a package of Allen Craig and Tyler Greene. Of these three pitchers mentioned Meche has the best stuff while Myers is pitching the best. I think all three of these teams would jump at this kind of offer as Craig has a nice upside but he’s blocked at 3B on the Cardinals by rookie David Freese who has been outstanding this year.

The St. Louis Cardinals will likely spend their free agent cash on a big bat for the outfield meaning that they probably won’t have the money to bring back starting 3B Mark DeRosa. With that in mind they should give the White Sox a call. The White Sox need help in the bullpen and the Cardinals could use some insurance at 3B in case David Freese is not ready for prime time. I think the Cardinals should offer righty reliever Brad Thompson to the White Sox for 3B/LF Josh Fields. The White Sox have grown a little sour on Fields but he still has a huge upside so the Cardinals should try to strike when the iron is hot and attempt to get him on the cheap.

UPDATE: Fields has been traded to the Royals so this can’t happen anymore, plus, the Cardinals have released Thompson.

The St. Louis Cardinals are on the hunt for a starting shortstop and they should look to the Cleveland Indians to find their guy. 27-year old righty swinging Jhonny Peralta could come available soon with the Tribe falling out of contention. He has played in 53 games for the Indians so far this season and he is 52 for 202 (.257 avg, .676 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 2 homers and 26 RBIs. But, in his prior four seasons with the Indians Peralta averaged 89.3 runs scored, 20.3 homers and 76.8 RBIs so the power is there. With Khalil Greene being a complete bust to this point the Cardinals can’t afford to sit around and wait. The Cardinals should also try to snap up 26-year old righty swinging 2B Josh Barfield from the Tribe. He has played in 9 games for the Indians this season and he is 5 for 12 (.417 avg, .834 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 2 RBIs. In Barfield’s rookie season he played in 150 games for the Padres in which he batted .280 (.741 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 13 homers, 58 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. Barfield has only hit .243 in 151 games in his American League career. Maybe a return to the N.L. would spark him. The Indians would probably be interested in 26-year old righty reliever Jason Motte and 23-year old righty reliever Chris Perez. The Cardinals would probably part with one of them plus 27-year old righty reliever/starter Brad Thompson for Peralta and Barfield and that would be a trade that could help both teams as the Indians’ pitching staff is in very poor shape.