Finding trade fits for Cardinals veterans

Let’s make some wild guesses as to where Chaim Bloom will send three notable Cardinal vets this offseason

There are occasions in life – rare occasions, ideally – in which one decides to embarrass oneself, willfully and with full knowledge, and then sets about doing the necessary work to achieve that embarrassment. This, for me, is one such occasion. I am going to predict where three current Cardinal veterans and subjects of vigorous trade speculation wind up this winter. This is a fool’s errand, and this fool is likely to look foolish after these three players are traded elsewhere or not traded at all. Such are the hazards, moral and professional, of such idle guesswork. I apologize to no one, least of all myself.

Chaim Bloom has already dealt Sonny Gray plus cash for what strikes me and many others as a promising return, but the trading isn’t over as the Cardinals further transition into an emphasis on the long term and seek to create roster and role space for younger talents and lower payroll. With the Winter Meetings – MLB’s flagship offseason hootenanny – in the offing, we might see such activity pretty soon.

Speaking of which, here’s my trio of scarcely informed guesses of where the Cardinals’ three most notable veteran trade chips wind up this winter, which means, yes, I’m operating under the assumption that all three will indeed be moved before pitchers and catchers report in February. Onward, against our better instincts.