Well, it's almost July. While last July will likely go down as the busiest and craziest of Billy Beane's tenure, there is no shortage of possibilities this time around. Three current Oakland Athletics will be free agents after this season (Ben Zobrist, Tyler Clippard, and Scott Kazmir), and two more valuable pieces will be free agents after 2016 (Jesse Chavez and Josh Reddick). Plenty of parts will be moving.

The A's, more than any other team, build their roster through trades. Anyone who is reading this post knows that. But when you look at who the A's have targeted in their major "re-load" trades both in 2011 and 2014, there is an obvious preference towards major league ready talent. Remember, for all the talk of "rebuilding" we heard after the Josh Donaldson, Jeff Samardzija, Derek Norris, and Brandon Moss trades, Franklin Barreto is the only acquisition who started 2015 below AAA. Barreto and Rangel Ravelo are the only players from that group who are under age 24 (Ravelo is 23, Barreto is 20).

There is a definite logic to that strategy. If you're the Oakland Athletics, your lifeblood is under-valued talent. If that means an effective starting pitcher with limited upside and five or six seasons of team control, so be it (good, cheap young pitching is still the linchpin to any successful A's team). It can also mean a player who has produced at every level in the minor leagues, but doesn't show the loud tools that excite fans and scouts.

So the A's clearly have a type, which is further corroborated by Ken Rosenthal's recent report that the A's targeted Michael A. Taylor (not Michael KNBR Taylor) from the Washington Nationals in exchange for Ben Zobrist. Taylor is a 24 year-old center fielder with fantastic range and 20-20 potential. I'm sure the A's could theoretically target a number of toolsy, young prospects at A-ball in exchange for a talent like Zobrist, but that obviously is not the case.

So there's one team in particular that has pieces we should want, and who will in all likelihood be looking to make an addition or two at the deadline. That team is the St. Louis Cardinals.

With Adam Wainwright out for the season, their rotation is now:

Michael Wacha John Lackey Lance Lynn (due to come off the DL tomorrow) Carlos Martinez Jaime Garcia

That's still an effective rotation, but Garcia or Martinez could move to the bullpen, and Wacha, Lackey, and Lynn have had health issues in the recent past. Wacha, in particular, has never handled a full 200 inning workload, which may end up being a concern for a Cardinals team with its eye on another deep October run. Scott Kazmir fits perfectly in that rotation.

Further, their outfield has been stressed a bit by injuries and ineffectiveness. Matt Holliday has hit the DL with a quad injury, Jon Jay has been terrible, and Jason Heyward has been a bit inconsistent (though still a very solid right fielder). Not to mention the fact that Matt Adams is possibly out for the season, leaving Mark Reynolds of all people to be their first baseman. Even with Matt Carpenter, Jhonny Peralta, and Kolten Wong holding down the fort at the other 3 infield positions, the Cardinals could definitely use a Ben Zobrist.

They have four candidates in particular that interest me (given what I think the A's are looking for). In no particular order, they are:

Stephen Piscotty, OF Tim Cooney, SP Tyler Lyons, SP Jacob Wilson, 2B Let's take them one-by-one.

Piscotty is a local product (Stanford University by way of Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton). A 24 year-old corner outfielder, Piscotty has hit .280/.357/.425 in 202 games at AAA for the Memphis Redbirds. He puts the bat on the ball consistently, with a K-rate of just 11.5% in his professional career. It's likely that he could step in right now and play a corner outfield spot in the major leagues. His upside may be limited by a lack of power, with just 37 homers in 370 career games.

But with a full slate of team control, and the ability to play a position where the A's are currently thin (outfield), Piscotty looks like a perfect target. I hold that he could produce like a pre-2014 Michael Brantley. Brantley, from ages 24-26, hit .280/.334/.397 (105 OPS+), averaging just 78 strikeouts per 162 games. Combined with solid defense in a corner outfield spot, that's at least a league-average regular for zero salary, starting tomorrow, for several years.

Cooney, like other recent A's pitching targets, is ready to produce in the majors. He has a solid minor league track record, with 367 Ks and 92 BBs in 448 minor league innings, good for a 3.39 ERA. A 6'3" LHP with no injury history, Cooney is a soft-tosser who epitomizes the "MLB-ready 4th starter with more command than stuff" that the A's have utilized in years past.

Cooney has a 2.90 ERA in 80 innings at AAA this season, and has one major league appearance to his credit. On April 30th, he started in St. Louis against the Phillies and was ineffective, allowing 7 hits (one a homer) and 3 ER in 2.1 innings.

Lyons is as close to Cooney as you can get. A 6'4" lefty with mid-rotation upside, Lyons has totaled 112 innings in the majors over the past three seasons. The 27 year-old Lyons has not been great in his time in the majors, with a 4.71 ERA over his 28 appearances (17 starts). But his strikeout and walk rates have been fine (8.5 and 2.7, respectively).

The Cardinals have had to call on Lyons for five starts thus far. Since getting re-called up on June 13th, he's had two starts, one against KC and one against Philadelphia. He has struck out 11, walked 2, and allowed 3 HRs in 10 innings over the course of those two starts. It's interesting to note that he has consistently under-performed his peripherals throughout his pro career. As a soft-tossing LHP, it could very well be a matter of fringey stuff getting hit hard. But the A's, and their cavernous ballpark, have taken chances on those guys before.

Wilson is in his fourth season of professional baseball after being drafted in the 10th round of the 2012 draft. A 24 year-old who has spent the majority of his career at second base, he has shown surprising pop for a 5'11 middle infielder. His career minor league line is .262/.341/.448, and he's hit 43 homers in 307 career games. Wilson's career K-rate is 15.8%, so he hasn't had to sacrifice a ton of contact for that power.

In 2015, he has a .247/.328/.485 line, splitting time between AA and AAA. If things break right, you might have another Brian Dozier on your hands here. He seems a bit like a right-handed Joe Wendle.

Between Nolin, Cooney, and Lyons, you probably have at least one effective 4th starter, and one reliever. Piscotty checks just about every box that Billy Beane has. Wilson is a mirror image of Wendle.

I feel like you could have any two of those four in exchange for Zobrist or Kazmir. If you were to tempt them with a guy who's under contract for 2016 (Chavez or Reddick) you might be able to swing three of them. Plus, all four of them would probably be on the roster right now, if we had them.

These are four perfect A's targets, and they're all on one team. It will be interesting to see if the A's and the Cards can work something out between now and July 31st.