Rumors say St. Louis Cardinals willing to trade Jose Martinez to land a lefty reliever

Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Cardinals have been “pushing” to trade Jose Martinez for left-handed reliever Will Smith.

Mark Saxon and Derrick Goold had reported similar information on Tuesday.

Will Smith has been drawing attention from multiple teams, according to Mark Saxon of The Athletic.

According to Saxon, the Giants are seeking young outfielders. The Cardinals are rumored to have offered Martinez, but are also rumored to be willing to include Tyler O’Neill in a deal to land either Smith or fellow lefty Tony Watson.

Saxon also reports that the Cardinals also have interest in left-handed free agent reliever Zach Britton and have also checked in on Andrew Miller, though the team remains leery about giving out a multi-year deal to land bullpen help. The Cardinals gave Luke Gregerson a two-year deal worth $10 million with an option year for another $5 million to be the St. Louis closer, yet he pitched just 12.2 innings because of injury.

During Paul Goldschmidt’s introductory news conference at Busch Stadium, Mozeliak said the team was still looking to add a left-handed utility player, bullpen help and a backup catcher.

This story was originally published December 12, 2018 at 9:31 AM.