Cardinals trade rumors: St. Louis focusing on rotation help

The Cardinals are focusing on adding rotation help at the trade deadline and are casting a wide net in their search, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. St Louis is considering front-end, mid-level, and back-end starters, as Rosenthal reported on Tuesday.

St. Louis has seen a strong performance from its rotation so far this season, currently ranking fifth in the majors with a combined 3.38 ERA out of their starters. They recently lost Jaime Garcia for the season and Michael Wacha until early September due to injuries, and are now using options like Joe Kelly and Carlos Martinez in the rotation. Though Kelly has been solid in his five starts on the season, Martinez has struggled a bit and is viewed more as a reliever, meaning that the team could look to add a starter to slot in behind Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn and Shelby Miller.

The Cardinals have shown consistent interest in Red Sox starter Jake Peavy, but have not been able to complete a deal to this point. According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, this is because Boston wanted a prospect back while St. Louis just wanted to take on Peavy's salary, causing the sides to remain far apart in talks.

The Red Sox have known to be looking at some of the Cardinals' outfielders, with names like Randal Grichuk and Allen Craig being linked to Boston in recent weeks. Peter Gammons of GammonsDaily.com reports that the Red Sox are also scouting minor league outfielder Rowan Wick in advance of more talks about Peavy, so the teams could make concessions to get a deal done before the deadline.

In addition to Peavy, the Cardinals have been linked to available starters like David Price, and could pursue options like Bartolo Colon or John Danks.