In a deal which will presumably make more sense when all the details come out than it does now, the Cardinals are reportedly set to acquire Jedd Gyorko for Jon Jay, with perhaps other players (or money) being in the deal.

Source: Jon Jay is going to San Diego. https://t.co/9GHVvrxqDV

— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) December 8, 2015

The Padres need a center fielder and more left-handed bats, so Jay to San Diego makes plenty of sense, since he mostly lost his job in St. Louis due to the Cardinals outfield depth. But the Gyorko to STL part of this is a little tougher to figure, given that the Cardinals already have three good players at the the infield spots where Gyorko could fit. Matt Carpenter is entrenched at third, Jhonny Peralta is locked in at shortstop, and Kolten Wong established himself as their second baseman a year ago, and Gyorko is at best a platoon option at second and occasional starter at 3B/SS. He’s a solid enough depth piece for a team that needs a decent backup middle infielder, but there’s also this.

Assuming the buyout of the final year of that deal, Gyorko is due $33 million over the next four seasons. Yes, free agent prices are going up, but I don’t see how Gyorko gets 4/$33M on the open market, especially not to play in a reserve role. Chase Utley got 1/$7M to play more than Gyorko will. Cliff Pennignton got 2/$4M to serve as the Angels utility infielder. It’s not that hard to argue that Gyorko’s youth makes him preferable to both of those guys, but 4/$33M for a guy who is going to play 2-3 times per week? I don’t think MLB is there yet.

So I’m guessing that the Padres are either eating a good chunk of this deal, or there’s another player going to San Diego that will help balance the scales a bit. Perhaps in the end, this will be the Andrew Cashner deal or something, with Gyorko included to just lower the price in prospects the Cardinals had to pay to get something else. That’s total speculation, but it would make more sense than the Cardinals taking on $33 million in salary for a utility infielder.