With the St. Louis Cardinals off to another poor start, is a Jordan Walker trade on the table?
The youngster has been the subject of trade talks throughout his young career and could easily be considered among the best young players in MLB right now. But with St. Louis being a potential seller, Cardinals trade news is already trickling in with Walker being a player who’s been mentioned as a trade chip.
Is Jordan Walker a Trade Chip for the Cardinals?
The question is whether St. Louis would actually trade him. Are the Cards better off keeping him? What would be his value on the trade market? What teams would be interested in trading for him?
Let’s take some time to explore the ins and outs of a potential Jordan Walker trade.
Time to Sell?
At the heart of the question of selling Walker is whether or not the Cardinals are ready to give up on him. The former first-round pick still possesses great upside, especially since he was only 21 at the start of the 2024 season. However, Walker’s stats in MLB have been underwhelming, paling in comparison to the impressive numbers he posted in the minors.
When Walker made the opening-day roster in 2023, some predicted he would have one of the greatest rookie seasons ever. Instead, Walker was solid but unspectacular, batting .276 with 16 homers and 19 doubles, producing an OPS of .787. Most players would be poised to take a step forward this year, but in Walker’s case, he fell flat on his face. In 20 games, he hit .155 with an OPS of .498, earning a demotion back to the minors.
Those results have called into question whether Walker should still be held in such high regard. Perhaps he’s not the valuable prospect the Cardinals once thought him to be. Will he be able to respond to his struggles this season in a positive way? At the same time, perhaps Walker is young enough to still have good value as a trade chip.
Trade Value?
If the Cardinals wanted to explore a trade involving Walker, what would his value be? It’s certainly not as high as it was a couple of years ago when he was arguably among the top-10 prospects in baseball. Back then, most teams would have jumped at the chance to acquire Walker and would have given up a proven commodity to get him.
But Walker isn’t that shiny prospect with endless potential anymore. Even though he’s still young and has several years of team control, the luster is off of him. That’s what a .155 average and a demotion to the minors less than a month into the season does for a player, even a talented player. While Walker has hit for a high average, albeit with limited power, in triple-A this year, if the Cardinals want him to regain some of his trade value, they’ll need to bring him back to the big leagues and hope he produces.
Trade Fits
Another reason why the Cardinals would entertain trading Walker is to help them fill holes in their organization. Specifically, the Cards lack young pitching. The St. Louis rotation is currently filled with pitchers on the wrong side of 30. Meanwhile, only four of the team’s top 10 prospects are pitchers. Therefore, the Cardinals could use Walker as a trade chip to acquire young pitching, potentially making a deal with an organization that lacks talented young hitters.
The Mariners are an obvious candidate, as they have a great collection of young arms in their rotation. However, Walker alone probably won’t be enough to land one of them. The Padres, who have been aggressive on the trade market this season, have quality pitching in their farm system. But they also want to win now, which Walker may not help them to do.
The ideal trade partner for St. Louis could be the NL Central rival Pirates. Pittsburgh’s farm system is loaded with talented pitchers, even if trading for Paul Skenes or Jared Jones is unrealistic. The Pirates are also a team that’s still building for the future. They could be receptive to using their surplus of young pitching to take a chance on a hitter like Walker. That doesn’t mean a trade is in the works, but if the Cardinals wanted to trade Walker, a team like the Pirates is a potential fit.
