As recently as Saturday I was talking about the various St. Louis Cardinals trade rumors—especially the ones about middle infielders like Stephen Drew and Yunel Escobar, which I had basically made up—with a certain ironic detachment. Now it's serious: Rafael Furcal is injured, or at least dealing with back tightness that could very well be an injury, and the Cardinals' top backup at shortstop is Daniel Descalso, who is a second baseman.
↵This is worrying.
↵The Cardinals now have until the end of July to chase down an infielder, if they're interested; if they aren't, they'll be hard-pressed to find relief in a farm system where Pete Kozma is the nearest second baseman to the majors, and both Ryan Jackson and Kolten Wong are locked in slumps.
↵There's still time for this infield to bounce back; Furcal's injury might not be serious, or Daniel Descalso or Tyler Greene might get hot. But at this point I think the Cardinals' need for an infielder is every bit as significant as its perceived need for a starting pitcher, thanks in part to system depth.
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