Cardinals set 40-man roster before next month's rule 5 draft. Who did they leave exposed?

Wednesday was the deadline for major league teams to set their 40-man rosters prior to the December 12th Rule 5 draft.  As such, the Cardinals made a series of moves to protect their key prospects.

First, they tried to clear some extra space by putting Ryan Jackson on waivers, however he was claimed by the Houston Astros.  Despite the Cardinals struggles with Pete Kozma and Daniel Descalso at short, Jackson never seemed to be an option, at least in the minds of Cardinals management, thus clearing him off the roster makes sense.

Second, the Cardinals removed pitcher John Gast and infielder Jermaine Curtis from the 40-man roster.  Gast is a question mark for 2014 after undergoing shoulder surgery and Curtis is not in the Cards long range plans.

Finally, the Cardinals added Oscar Taveras, outfielder Mike O'Neill and infielder Greg Garcia to their 40-man roster.

Taveras was a no-brainer.  The Cardinals would have never left him exposed to the Rule 5 draft.

O'Neill has been proving critics wrong for years, by his ability to hit for average and get on base (career .328/.435/.405 line in the minors).  He has little power or speed, but if his skills translate to the majors, he can be at least a quality 4th or 5th outfielder.

Garcia is a quality middle infield prospect who started getting some work at third this year.  He has a career .281/.386/.403 line in the minors and should prove to be at least a good utility infielder in the majors.

Yesterday, Derrick Goold provided a pretty comprehensive list of players eligible for the Rule 5 draft in the Cardinals organization, based on that and the above moves, here are the players I think could potentially be drafted next month.

John Gast

I was a bit surprised that the Cardinals dropped Gast from the 40-man roster.  Although he underwent surgery to repair a torn lat in July, he still is a quality prospect and any team that drafts him can stash him on the DL until he's healthy.  In my mind, he's the most likely Cardinal to get selected next month.

Boone Whiting

An 18th round pick in 2010, Whiting has decent minor league numbers (3.13 ERA in 345 innings) despite the lack of overpowering stuff.  His fastball sits in the 89-91 mph range, but he has a quality slider to go with it.  Some team could select him as a bullpen arm.

Seth Blair

A first round pick (46th overall) in 2010, Blair has dealt with control issues, inconsistency and injuries in his minor league career.  He posted a 5.07 ERA at AA this year and still has a mid-90's fastball, but may be better suited for relief.

Jordan Swagerty

A second round pick in 2010, Swagerty has a nice minor league debut in 2011, posting a 1.83 ERA in 93.2 innings.  However, he had Tommy John surgery in April 2012 and pitched just 10.2 innings in 2013.

He has a mid-90's fastball and an excellent curve and could be another guy that a team could select and stash on the D.L. while he works his way back.

Robert Stock

Stock was drafted as a catcher but was converted to a pitcher in 2012.  He pitched for USC in college and flashed a low-to-mid-90's fastball and an average slider.  He's still pretty raw (4.20 ERA in 109.1 innings in the minors), but could be stashed in a major league bullpen.

Overall, you will notice that all of the above players are pitchers, mainly because teams usually select pitching in the Rule 5 draft, as its easier to stash a pitcher in a major league bullpen, and because the hitters the Cardinals left unprotected are not so special.

I think that Gast is likely to be chosen and possibly even Whiting, which will greatly hurt the Cardinals depth.

Who are the Cardinals trade chips?

After taking a look at who the Cardinals might pursue at the trade deadline a couple weeks ago, its time to think about who the Cards might trade to get some of those players.  This is not to say that any of these players will be traded in July, but that these guys are, for various reasons, potential trade chips for the team.

First Tier - The Blockbuster Guys

These guys would only be traded in a blockbuster type deal.  I'm thinking along the lines of Cliff Lee, Jurickson Profar or Giancarlo Stanton.

Oscar Taveras

The Cardinals top prospect is likely untouchable, but if it meant getting a player that the team could control for several years, such as Profar or Stanton, I'm sure the Cards would at least consider it.  Taveras is considered the heir apparent to Carlos Beltran in the Cardinals outfield.  However, the emergence of Matt Adams could make Taveras expendable.

Carlos Martinez

Martinez is pitching well at AAA and could be a staple in the Cardinals rotation for years to come.  However, with the abundance of young power arms in the Cards farm system, the team could decide to move him if it meant getting a guy like Lee in return.  There have been questions as to whether Martinez is better suited for the rotation or pen going forward and if the Cardinals don't think he is suited for the rotation, they could make the move.  They just don't want to end up making another Dan Haren for Mark Mulder type of deal.

Second Tier - The Big Deal Guys

These are guys who probably wouldn't be used in a blockbuster type deal, but could get the Cardinals a quality player in return.

Matt Adams

Adams has proven that he is major league ready, but as he is blocked from a starting gig this year and Oscar Taveras is coming up behind him, the Cardinals could make him available for the right piece.  It would have to be someone like Matt Garza, Bud Norris or possibly Ricky Nolasco.

Kolten Wong

Wong is another guy who is blocked at the major league level, which could make him expendable.  As one of the Cardinals top 10 prospects, the team would like a good player in return.  The Phillies could be a possibility if the Cardinals want to upgrade at short with Jimmy Rollins or perhaps Wong could be used in a bigger deal.

Bottom Tier - The Missing Piece Guys

These are guys who the Cardinals might move just to get the final piece to their playoff puzzle, such as another bullpen arm.  Something along the lines of the Cards Zack Cox for Edward Mujica trade last year.

Sam Freeman

Despite posting good numbers at AAA Memphis so far this year (3.30 ERA in 54.2 innings), the Cardinals have passed on Freeman on several occasions when looking for bullpen help.  At age 26, he is no longer considered a prime prospect, but he still throws in the mid-90's and could develop into a good setup man at the major league level.  The Cardinals could potentially swap him for someone like lefties Wesley Wright or Oliver Perez.

Seth Blair

Blair has fallen behind other starting pitchers in the Cardinals organization due to injury and could be trade bait as a result.  He throws 92-94 mph with a potential plus curve and could garner a reliever in return, such as Steve Cishek or John Axford.

These are just a handful of the players the Cardinals might make available at the trade deadline.  With the best minor league system in baseball, the Cards have an abundance of talent to draw from to get a deal done.