The St. Louis Cardinals look like they are about to undertake a rebuild which gives the SF Giants a great opportunity to make a trade with them. They could potentially kill two birds with one stone in a hypothetical trade with St. Louis.
With new leadership in the front office, it seems likely that a rebuild is imminent for St. Louis. The results have not been there on the field and attendance has dropped. Plus, the team has pricey contracts for veterans like Sonny Gray and Nolan Arenado that they would like to get off the books.
SF Giants can address two needs in trade with Cardinals
Gray makes a lot of sense for the Giants. He has been seen as a logical fit with San Francisco for a while and it is not hard to understand why. He has been a consistent, solid starting pitcher in his career. Last season with the Cardinals he had a 14-8 record and 4.28 ERA in 32 starts.
If the Giants were able to land him, they would be creating a solid top three starters in their rotation with Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, and Gray. Add a veteran like Max Scherzer as your fifth starter and Landen Roupp as your fifth starter and that is a pretty solid starting rotation to enter 2026 with.
The big thing with Gray will be determining how much of his contract the Giants would take on. The Cardinals are reportedly willing to pay down some of Gray’s salary in trade talks which would be good for the Giants, but it may mean St. Louis will want more in a return.
Turning to the other bird the Giants would get in a trade with St. Louis, outfielder Lars Nootbaar seems like he would be a solid fit in right field. Nootbaar slashed .234/.325/.361 with 13 homers and 48 runs batted in.
Right field is an open spot for the Giants that they are likely not willing to entrust to young players like Drew Gilbert and Luis Matos. Nootbaar would give them a serviceable option out there.
What would it take for the Giants to get these players? Maybe trading top pitching prospect Carson Whisenhunt and outfielder Luis Matos as well as an additional prospect would get a deal done.
Pitching is the biggest need for the Giants this offseason, but right field is a need as well so if the giants could address both of those needs in a trade with St. Louis that would be a smart move.
