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The St.
Louis Cardinals' biggest weakness was on display again in Thursday's 10-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Despite Michael McGreevy's strong effort, the bullpen allowed six runs and ultimately cost St.
Louis the game.
The bullpen isn't their only weakness though.
Their starting pitchers often don't get deep enough into ballgames, which puts extra stress on the bullpen.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Seattle Mariners are willing to make right-hander Emerson Hancock available in trade talks.
Perhaps he could be somebody that the Cardinals take a look at as they try to find ways to improve the rotation, even while likely selling at the deadline.
Examining the fit The right-hander is still relatively young at 27 years old.
He also has put together a very solid season on the mound, going 6-4 with a 3.16 ERA in 19 starts while striking out 97 batters over 105 1/3 innings pitched.
The 27-year-old also is not a free agent until 2031, meaning he is under team control for the next four years after 2026.
Ideally, he would be a perfect fit for the Cardinals.
St.
Louis will likely trade Dustin May to a contender in the next few weeks, so Hancock could be somebody that fills a spot for the next several years.
There is one problem, however.
While the Mariners could use some bullpen help, making Riley O'Brien an interesting potential target for them, Rosenthal notes that in order for them to trade Hancock, they will want to find a right-handed bat.
St.
Louis has some in their mix, but the chances of trading Ivan Herrera and Jordan Walker are basically zero, so a direct swap between Seattle and St.
Louis is highly unlikely.
What could make this work is if it's a three-way trade.
Perhaps the Cardinals give up one of their pitchers to another contender that gives Seattle the right-handed bat it is searching for.
Then the Cardinals could land an arm like Hancock for the future.
Even though the Cardinals are selling, they can somewhat buy as long as the moves they make aren't for rentals and they also sell off some of the trade chips they have.
In a sense, they could be doing both.
But it is highly unlikely that the Cardinals will land Hancock in a two-team trade, as Seattle would want a right-handed bat, and Herrera and Walker aren't going anywhere.
Curt Bishop is a freelance sports writer who graduated from Maryville University of St.
Louis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the field of Communication and currently writes as a contributor for various platforms covering Major League Baseball.
Curts work includes covering trade and free agency predictions, as well as rumors and news.
For all business/marketing inquiries regarding St.
Louis Cardinals On SI, please reach out to Scott Neville: [email protected] Follow bishopcurtis5.