Should the 2029 Cardinals deal Jordan Walker?

[rink23]

It is June 7, 2029 and the St. Louis Cardinals are 28-34, in fourth place in the NL Central, some 14 games behind the first-place Brewers.
The team got off to a horrendous start going 11-16 in April, but a 15-13 record in May maybe got them back into the wild-card hunt.
The Cardinals' biggest issue has been starting pitching.
After ranking second in starter's ERA and first in bullpen ERA in 2028, they have imploded to being 15th in starter's ERA and 10 in bullpen.
Like in the real world, Jordan Walker has been a conundrum.
Ranked as one of the game's top prospects, in only one season -- 2027, when he hit .276 with 12 home runs, 75 RBIs and a .795 OPS -- has he flashed close to his potential.
This season, after 57 games, he is hitting .209 with six home runs, 24 RBIs and a .652 OPS.
He also will be a free agent at season's end.
So I put out trade feelers for him and got an interesting offer from Colorado.
The Rockies are willing deal their No. 1 starter, 25-year-old right-hander Yujanyer Herrera, for Walker and a 21-year old pitcher down in the Dominican Rookie League.
The caveat is, Herrera, who after going a combined 30-10 with a 2.98 over 2027 and 2028, including a Cy Young runner-up in 2027 a year he also was World Series MVP, is 1-9 this season with a 4.91 ERA.
Herrera, who has no major injury history, will be arbitration eligible at the end of the season. He is expected to be awarded $9.9 million.
My gut is to make the trade. Walker's scouting ratings have dropped from 50 overall/75 potential at the beginning of the season to a current 50/60.
Maybe Herrera just needs to get out of Colorado and could be the No. 1 or 2 starter the team needs
And if he doesn't work out. He should at least be a middle of the rotation guy who doesn't cost that much while I will likely let Walker walk as a free agent.
Just looking for opinions.

[mytreds]

It's your save, so trust your gut.

If it were me though, I would try to trade Walker for prospects. That way you won't free up only about 1 mil in a year, but several million of several years, potentially. And you could find holes that need filling for future years. Do you really need another starter? Who will replace Walker? Do you have any bench or AAA corner OFs that can fill his absence? Who will be replaced by Herrera? Will you have to shuffle pitchers back down to AAA, maybe delaying a SP prospect from developing? These would be questions I'd ask myself before pulling the trigger.

Also, its only June. A lot can happen in 4 months. Maybe wait another 100 PAs before making a decision.

[pgjocki]

Coming in late but I'm curious what decision you made.

From St. Louis perspective:

- You aren't going to keep Walker as part of your long term plans so you want him to go and at least get something in return.

- He's performing well below his scouted capability - just like in real life - but other teams will think they can fix him and that is something you can use against them.

- You need pitching now as you can find another guy to hit .209 and contribute negative WAR.

From Colorado perspective:

- They want to get out of the potential arb number for Herrera

- They think that Walker might go on a hot streak hitting in Colorado and they can flip him in 6 weeks for a better prospect than what they gave up.

- They have watched player after player get traded from St. Louis and turn into studs and are more than willing to take a future All-Star and MVP Candidate off your hands for a pitcher having a down year who they don't see as a long term investment.