After another July trade deadline that left plenty to the imagination and a front office that majored in coach speak and hollow words, it appeared the St. Louis Cardinals were prepared for a boring offseason that would do little to turn them into World Series contenders.

But it looks like President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak might have been playing the long game, and all of a sudden the Cardinals are rumored to be looking at Miami Marlins slugging outfielder Giancarlo Stanton.

The 28-year-old right fielder led the Major Leagues with 59 home runs last season, and was in the top five in nearly every offensive power category.

The Marlins signed him to a massive 13-year, $325 million contract before the 2015 season, but the new ownership appears to want to dump the contract while it rebuilds the franchise.

And that’s where the Cardinals come in.

The two teams are perfect trade partners this offseason.

The Marlins want young, cheap and talented players they can build around, and the Cardinals need a middle-of-the-order power hitter, something they’ve lacked for a few years now.

The Cardinals have one of the best minor league systems in the Major Leagues, which includes two pitchers (Alex Reyes and Jack Flaherty) listed by MLB.com as top 50 prospects.

Other valuable assets include starting pitchers Dakota Hudson and Sandy Alcantara, as well as outfielders Tyler O’Neill and Harrison Bader.

The Cardinals also have a log-jam of young outfielders on their major league roster that they need to sort out anyway, which includes Randal Grichuk, Stephen Piscotty, Tommy Pham and Jose Martinez.

The Marlins would get out from under Stanton’s contract, pick up a few major league-ready replacements in the outfield and stash a few of MLB’s best pitching prospects while they build for the future.

The Cardinals would solve their Rubik’s cube-like problem in the outfield and prime themselves up for another World Series run with perhaps the best power hitter in the Major Leagues.

The only roadblock appears to be Stanton’s no-trade clause, which would have to be waived.

Players don’t normally sign 13-year deals and wish to bolt by the the fourth season.

But Stanton has publicly voiced his desire to win, and the Cardinals give him that.

They also have the ability to pick up most of his salary for the next 11 years, something most teams wouldn’t be able to do.

Any number of factors could derail the trade talks in the coming weeks.

But Stanton to the Cardinals makes too much sense, so don’t be surprised if St. Louis has a new right fielder on Opening Day 2018.