THE RUMOR: The Cardinals have had conversations recently with the Brewers involving first baseman Adam Lind.
REPORTED BY: Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
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THE DETAILS: The Brewers are in full sell mode. Last week they dealt third baseman Aramis Ramirez, and they're willing to part ways with Lind, who is also garnering attention from the Pirates.
THIS SEASON: Although he has missed games over the weekend with lower back tightness, the 32-year-old left-handed hitter is batting .285/.365/.500 with 16 home runs and 58 RBIs in 92 games. He is making $7.5 million this season with an $8 million club option ($500,000 buyout) for 2016.
OUR TAKE: You wouldn't know it by looking at their record (63-35), but the Cardinals are in need of offense. St. Louis is hitting a dismal .224 in July, which ranks in the bottom six in the majors. In their last 48 games entering Monday, they have averaged 3.82 runs per game. With Matt Adams (quad) likely out for the season, Mark Reynolds batting .229/.312/.391 and Matt Carpenter batting .155/.269/.233 in the last 30 days, Lind and his .865 OPS could jump-start the Cards' batting order.
On the other hand, the biggest issue with St. Louis' offense is its inability to hit left-handed pitchers. The Cardinals rank 27th in MLB with a .231 average against lefties and Lind's .213 average (.568 OPS) isn't going to help.
With the Blue Jays and Brewers discussing a trade involving Milwaukee starter Mike Fiers, and with Kyle Lohse a free agent at season’s end, the Brewers are seeking pitchers in trades. Marco Gonzales, Rob Kaminsky, Alex Reyes and Jack Flaherty are a few of the Cardinals' minor league pitchers the Brewers may be targeting.