Opening Day is right around the corner for Major League Baseball.
While many teams are eager to take the field and start playing games for real, some are still scrambling to fill roster spots vacated by players destined for the disabled list at the start of the season.
While it’s inevitable that players get injured, it’s especially disheartening when it occurs during spring training, when teams are giddy about their prospects.
Experts have already doled out their preseason favorites based on current rosters.
However, in the case of the St. Louis Cardinals, when your ace (Adam Wainwright) goes down with an ulnar collateral ligament tear that requires Tommy John surgery before he has even thrown a pitch of any significance, the landscape is drastically altered.
The Cards are now left to fill the void, either by choosing an internal candidate (Kyle McLellan), searching the waiver wire, or making inquiries as to who might be available via trade.
While McLellan appears to be on the fast track to replace Wainwright in the Cards’ starting rotation (0.75 ERA in 12 innings during spring training), the same can’t be said for several other teams looking to fill key positions within the next eight days before Opening Day.
Here is a look at 10 players that could be had for a trade to fill holes left by injured players during spring training.
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