The debate in St. Louis recently has hinged on whether or not the Cardinals need to get a bat to protect Albert Pujols. I do not think they need to trade for one, and here is why.
The Cardinals are a middle of the road offense in the National League, which usually means they need a bat. But this is a team that has effectively had a hole at third and has missed significant playing time from three of its major offensive contributors from last season: Ryan Ludwick, Troy Glaus, and Rick Ankiel. A full season of a healthy Ludwick, Ankiel, and Glaus and this would be a ridiculous argument. The only reason we're even talking about getting a bat is that there have been injuries. But Ludwick is back and appears back to form, Ankiel can be put in a platoon now with Colby Rasmus playing all the time, and the Cardinals have traded for Mark DeRosa. There really aren't any holes to fill, especially not when DeRosa comes back.
That being said, any trade would mean the Cardinals would be upgrading at a position rather than filling a hole. The argument is that they need a fourth hitter, so that would mean either moving Ryan Ludwick down in the order, or shipping Ludwick away in a deal. Let's explore the former. If the Cardinals were to add a bat better than Ryan Ludwick to their lineup without moving Ludwick, or presumably Rasmus, out, they would need to find either a middle infielder, a third baseman, or an outfielder with an OPS higher than .829 (he has to be better than Ludwick). Ludwick is not yet a qualified hitter, but if he was he'd be ranked in the mid to low 60s in all of MLB. If we're saying he needs to be better than Ludwick and capabale of hitting behind Pujols, I'm going to say his OPS needs to be a minimum fifty points higher. That puts us in the 40s range with names like Choo of Cleveland, Jayson Werth of Philly, Matsui of the Yankees, and a bunch of first basemen. None of these guys is going to be shipped out, nor do they fit the bill of being able to protect Pujols. Maybe Matsui, but is that the upgrade the Cardinals want defensively? Beyond Matsui are the untouchables. The point is, there really isn't a player available that is a great upgrade over Ryan Ludwick, especially not among middle infielders and third basemen. That is, unless they can pull a miracle and get a guy like Hanley Ramirez. Outside of the insane, the numbers to not match up. There isn't anyone out there to "get."
We haven't even begun to talk about what it would take to get a guy better than Ludwick. We're talking about the Cardinals needing someone that is in the Top 40 in OPS. Those guys aren't cheap. Brett Wallace, Jess Todd (if he's not already an Indian), Daryl Jones, these are the names of prospects that will have to be moved. In all likelihood, Ludwick himself will have to be a part of the deal unless the Cardinals are trading for an infielder. Is a switch like this worth it? Let's think opportunity cost. The Cardinals could refrain from making a move like this and still retain an adequate hitter in the lineup that protects Pujols while keeping the prospects to either make a different trade or to contribute in a few years. In a market where there may not be anyone to go trade for that could produce behind Pujols, the latter seems more responsible.
Now let me defend Ludwick. Here's a guy that slugged 140 homers in the minors before getting a shot with the Cardinals. He was an immense success for St. Louis last season and demonstrated a big year is within his capabilities when he's healthy. He missed some time this year with an injury, but is on pace to hit another 30 homers and drive in another 100 runs. He's clearly good enough to protect Pujols.
If the Cardinals want to add to their lineup, they should look beyond a big bat. They could get a solid middle infield bat that would go a long way toward improving the overall threat of their lineup. Or they could make the big move on the pitching side and go for a Roy Halladay or whatever. They do not need to get a bat to protect Albert Pujols.
Plus, they might not need to.
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