Latest Trade Rumors: Cardinals actively looking to trade David Freese and Rangers' shortstops may no longer be an option

Things are heating up on the David Freese front while Texas' trade of Ian Kinsler has many wondering where the Cardinals will find a shortstop, as the Hot Stove Heats up.

David Freese

Reports surfaced yesterday that the Cardinals were talking to the Angels about a possible David Freese trade (first reported by Ken Rosenthal via Twitter).  Rosenthal further reported that the Cardinals were looking for outfield depth and that the sides were still in the "discussion phase".  The Angels have young outfielders, such as Peter Bourjos, J.B. Shuck and Kole Calhoun that could interest the Cards.

I find it somewhat puzzling that the Cardinals would be looking for additional outfielders, when the have some talented youngsters of their own, such as Oscar Taveras, Stephen Piscotty and even Mike O'Neill waiting in the wings.

Perhaps its an indication that the Cardinals may be looking to move someone like Matt Adams or Jon Jay in another trade to acquire a shortstop.

In any case, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register indicated that the Cardinals would not trade Freese for Bourjos straight up and that some more pieces need to be involved, but they are still working on it.

Update:  The Cardinals have traded Freese and Fernando Salas for the Angles' Peter Bourjos and Randal Grichuk.  I will post details later...

Shortstop

The Cardinals search for a shortstop hit an unexpected roadblock this week when the Rangers traded second baseman Ian Kinsler to Detroit for Prince Fielder.  Although Ken Rosenthal indicated that the Rangers are still open to trading either Elvis Andrus or Jurickson Profar, it seems less likely now.

With Andrus and Profar off the table, Bernie Miklasz breaks down the other options for the Cards, with J.J. Hardy listed as his "best fit".

While Hardy won the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove last year, it appears that he has his drawbacks as well.  For one thing, he is only signed through the 2014 season and it appears that the Orioles asking price (Shelby Miller) is pretty high.

I, for one, do not want to give up Miller for a one-year rental, however, as Miklasz points out, there doesn't appear to be a lot of other great options.

Perhaps the Cardinals can find some way to pry Erick Aybar away from the Angels while they are working on the Freese trade or perhaps the Rangers might be more willing to trade Andrus or Profar if the Cardinals include Kolten Wong (to replace Kinsler at second).  However, that won't happen if the Cards trade Freese.

In any case, it looks like Freese could be on the move soon and we might have to wait a while before the shortstop position is filled.