St. Louis Cardinals: A week until the trade deadline

The St. Louis Cardinals are a week away from the trade deadline, and if you have paid attention you know the team is in the market to make some moves.

The rumor mill continues to churn forward for the St. Louis Cardinals. With one week out from the deadline, things are just as confusing as they were a week ago. After dropping two of three to the Cubs, Cardinal fans have called for the team to finally embrace the idea of being sellers.

With the team not taking advantage of miscues by the rest of the National League Central, the idea of being sellers isn’t shocking. On the other hand, with a strong push the Central could be had. If the team decides to buy, it would show their commitment to winning.

The St. Louis Cardinals have seen themselves involved in rumors covering the spectrum. From buying, to selling, to a combination of the two, the Cardinals are everywhere. The route this front office will take still remains to be seen, but John Mozeliak is on record saying the team is “open for business.”

The Cardinals have pieces to buy or sell. The farm system has been replenished with very promising talent. The major league roster has some friendly and expiring contracts that a contender might find interesting. The one thing known is this team can’t afford to sit on their hands when it comes to this year’s trade deadline.

If the Cardinals front office believes this team can compete this year, then a big move must happen. If they think gearing up for a run next year is the way to go, then some smart moves will have to be made in an attempt to compete again in 2018. Regardless, this front office has a tall task ahead of them. Cardinal fans won’t just sit around and accept what they have seen this year. John Mozeliak and the rest of the St. Louis Cardinals’ front office need to be working the phones.

The rumor mill out of Miami has the Marlins standing pat. Is that the case or are the Marlins just trying to get more in a deal?

The Cardinals have been connected to the Miami Marlins countless times over the last month. Just like every trade deadline, rumors change constantly. This one is no different. At this point in time, the Marlins are planning on keeping their core, until at least the off-season. Given the dramatic changes that can happen by the hour, we will see if the Marlins change their minds before the July 31st deadline.

The St. Louis Cardinals have been connected to the Marlins’ outfielders at some time or another, but the Marlins say they won’t deal any of them. This could force the team to go to a plan B. Each of the Marlins’ outfielders would help the team this season and improve the future. Each one of them has a contract that goes past this season and offers the team something they don’t have, a hitter who could bat in the three hole.

For a team that isn’t going to compete this year, it’s odd the Marlins will hold off until winter. Keeping their core players for an extra half of a season only lowers their potential value in a trade. If the Marlins want to max out any potential return, moves need to be made sooner rather than later.

Related Story: Cards interested in Miami outfield

The Marlins’ front office could be spreading these stories to up the potential return for their players. The National League East and the Wild Card are not in the cards for the Marlins so not making any deals would be a surprise.

There is still plenty of time for things to change. As of now, don’t expect the Cardinals to add a Marlins outfielder before the deadline. If that means the Cardinals decide to go a different route, then what that route will be remains a mystery. The Cardinals are very good at staying tight-lipped in a social media world, so we may not hear anything until a deal is made.

Could the Cardinals make a blockbuster deal? If they do, they may want to look out to the east coast.

If the St. Louis Cardinals want to make a splash, they should look no further than the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles have a few impressive pieces, but they are not a team that can compete. Making a big move this year could help them in building for the future, and the Cardinals may have just the right pieces to make that work.

The Orioles have three pieces of great interest to the Cardinals. Manny Machado, Brad Brach and Zach Britton, or any combination of those three, could be just the addition to take this team where they want to go. Of course, it would not come at a cheap price. However, the time to strike an Orioles team that hasn’t been exactly impressive of late is now.

Adding Manny Machado and one of the bullpen pieces would fill two gaping holes for this Cardinals team. The Cardinals could use a true three hitter. Machado would offer that and more. As for the bullpen pieces, that is unquestionably the worst part of this team. Adding either Brach or Britton would go a long way in helping the dumpster fire that has become the Cardinals bullpen. Britton would cot quite a bit more than Brach, but Britton would immediately slide into the closer’s role.

Related Story: Machado or Stanton

We know the Orioles look to move Brach and Britton, but Buster Olney believes if this team is going to look into trading Britton, they should also look to move Machado too, to maximize his value. For the Cardinals, this could mean adding Machado a year earlier than they potentially could when he hits free agency.

The cost may be what keeps the Cardinals from truly making such a splash of a deal. To make this kind of deal, the Cardinals would likely have to move three or four of their top ten prospects along with some supplementary pieces. Potentially, a guy like Tyler Lyons could be an additional piece for a team in need of pitching, but you could expect to see a combination of Luke Weaver, Harrison Bader, Delvin Perez, Jack Flaherty and Carson Kelly in this kind of deal.

Is Tyler O’Neill part of the Cardinals future? Or is there another plan for him?

The St. Louis Cardinals made their first move of the trade season, sending Marco Gonzales to Seattle for big hitting prospect, Tyler O’Neill. This move comes as a surprise to folks who don’t understand the addition of another outfield bat to an organization already jam-packed with them. On the surface this deal seems confusing, but when you look deeper there seems to be something brewing.

For a team that doesn’t have space for Harrison Bader and Magneuris Sierra on the big league club, it does seem odd to add such a highly touted outfield prospect. MLB Pipeline has O’Neill rated as their 29th overall prospect, and he is widely regarded as one of the best power bats in the minors.

This was a great deal for the Cardinals who saw multiple pitchers leap-frog Gonzales in the pecking order of the minor leagues. Whenever you add a player with the potential of O’Neill, you have to be excited. However, will he ever see the field in St. Louis or is he part of a bigger plan?

Related Story: Takeaways from the Gonzales trade

There are rumors O’Neill may be part of a bigger deal. The Cardinals could be adding O’Neill to add him to what could be a deal to bring in the star player this team desperately needs. This theory is not surprising at all considering the Cardinals’ roster. Throughout the Cardinals’ farm system, there are outfielders aplenty. At each level, you can find at least one outfielder this team and fans are excited about.

Moving O’Neill in a bigger deal would be a genius move by Mozeliak and the rest of the Cardinals’ front office. Selling off a piece that no longer had a real role outside of AAA mainstay for a guy that has incredible upside is a win-win for this team. There is no question this front office has the ability to make smart moves. This move in particular is a good sign for the future and hopefully will bring forth a player to help the major league club, sooner rather than later.

Time will tell what kind of moves the St. Louis Cardinals will make during the trade deadline.

The trade deadline is an extremely exciting time. Fans will have Twitter updating as fast as they can, and rumors will fly in as fast as they disappear. Cardinal fans should sit back and trust their front office to make the right move over the coming days. With just seven days until the deadline, expect the Cardinals to be working the phones to make the moves that get this team in position to compete, if not this year, next.

Whether or not this team, adds any of the players mentioned previously, it is safe to say that this team will not sit on their hands this deadline. The team and front office are on notice. The poor play we have seen this year is not acceptable. Multiple moves need to be made to get this team where they need to be. Unfortunately, with the current roster construction that is where we are right now.

If you want up-to-date information, make sure you keep an eye on Redbird Rants throughout the trade deadline. Our writers work very hard to have up to date information for our readers. Be sure to check out our All-Star Break Summit where the Redbird Rants writers take a shot at all the pressing questions about the trade deadline.

Next: Five bounce back candidates

The Cardinals will be back in action tonight against the Colorado Rockies. Mike Leake will look to rebound against Antonio Senzatela and Rockies hard-hitting lineup. After a tough series against the Chicago Cubs, the Cardinals will hopefully get back on the winning track and make the deadline even more interesting.