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.

With Cesar Izturis so helpless with a bat in his hands this season the Cardinals should consider making a play for Jhonny Peralta of the Indians. Peralta is a 26-year old righty swinging offensive minded shortstop. He is nowhere near Izturis’ class as a defender but he can flat out hit the baseball. He has played in 94 games for the Indians this season and he is 99 for 367 (.270 avg, .803 OPS) with 63 homers, 17 homers and 52 RBIs. The Indians need help right now at the major league level and might be receptive to an offer of outfielder Joe Mather and pitchers Anthony Reyes and Brad Thompson. Mather was the Cardinals’ #13 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. Mather has played in 23 games for the Cardinals this season and he is 12 for 50 (.240 avg, .721 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 5 RBIs. Anthony Reyes is in the Cardinals dog house and Brad Thompson has fallen behind other pitchers in the pecking order. Both of these pitchers would move right into important roles on the Indians if they acquired them. This trade would make perfect sense for both teams.

The Cardinals need another big bat with Albert Pujols down right now and Aubrey Huff may become available soon. The Cardinals could probably get him if they offered the Orioles Chris Duncan, Brendan Ryan and Anthony Reyes if the Orioles start to fade. Huff has played in 70 games for the Orioles this year and he is 72 for 271 (.266 avg, .815 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 12 homers and 39 RBIs. Huff is also known as a notorius second half hitter. The only question is can he handle a corner outfield spot on defense after Pujols returns? If he can the Cardinals would have to make this deal. Reyes would probably move right into the rotation for the Orioles after he comes off the D.L. He has pitched in 10 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals this year and he is 2-1 with 1 save, a 4.91 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Chris Duncan would probably replace Huff in the starting lineup at 1B or DH. He has played in 55 games for the Cardinals this season and he is 37 for 158 (.234 avg, .668 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 4 homers and 17 RBIs. Brendan Ryan would be able to help out the Orioles at SS which has been a black hole for them this year. Ryan has played in 37 games this year for the Cardinals and he is 28 for 103 (.272 avg, .629 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 5 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.