Perhaps the best trading partner to acquire a catcher might be the St Louis Cardinals.. There are several points that make sense for this:
1. Yadier Molina on a one year $ 10 MM contract as the primary catcher & Andrew Knizner as his back up
2. The Cardinals have both corner infield spots filled, including Nolan Arenado at 3B.. making JRam unneeded
3. The Cardinals are in perpetual need for a slick fielding middle infielder who can hit now and into the future
4. The Cardinals biggest need is pitching.. both relievers and starters..
The Cardinals have a pair of pre-arbitration OF'er's in Lars Nootbaar OF, Tommy Edman Inf/RF & some firepower in Nolan Gorman 3B/2B/LF & a future everyday starting catcher in Ivan Herrera. There are plenty of complimentary pieces (genesis cabrera, harrison bader, alex reyes, others) that would fit nicely into a Guardians uniform..
For the Guardians.. the Cardinals would want Bieber.. but settle for Plesac: a bona fide MOR SP.. Additionally, Andres Gimenez would fit nicely there.. so would Tyler Freeman, Logan S Allen, Bracho, Jose Tena and others. There could be a small deal or a large/involved deal between the two clubs.. or even a third team given the depth of middle infielders the Guardians have that would interest these clubs..
example..
Cincinnati gets: Andres Gimenez and Matt Liberatore
St Louis gets: Tyler Mahle, Tanner Burns and Zach Plesac
Cleveland gets: Nick Senzel, Michael McGreevy, Ivan Herrera and Josh Baez
While there are endless permutations that can be imagined (and that's all this is at this point, an imaginary deal).. the idea that a catcher that is ready to compete for a spot in a major league lineup right now can be had..for the right deal. Ivan Herrera is at that level. In this example.. the Reds solve their SS problem and get another TOR SP (to go with Lodolo and Greene) for their 2023-25 window of contention. The Cardinals pitching staff gets two SP's with 2 and 4 years of control, respectively, and a future SP by trading first round picks with the Guardians. The Guardians get their catcher.. get Shane Bieber's alumnus-mate & get two OF'ers (both RHH's), one now and one in the future...
-No JRam..
-No prospects that are leaning toward being untouchable
Who says no? What say you?