Cardinals Rumors: St. Louis in wait-and-see mode at trade deadline

The St Louis Cardinals have options at this year’s trade deadline, but for the time being the plan is to wait for the market to develop more.

The last couple weeks, we have been operating under the assumption that the St. Louis Cardinals would do little-to-nothing at the trade deadline. But, like, there have been no rumors to go off this week in what is typically the craziest on the rumor mill.

At long last, we have a rumor. Kind of. Sort of.

The Cardinals are in wait-and-see mode, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who says they are wondering how the July 30 trade deadline will alter teams’ asking prices. And with roughly 24 hours until the trade deadline, those asking prices are sure to come down as sellers such as the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals and others look to move their most tradable assets. But will it come down enough for the Cardinals to get involved?

That is the million dollar question. We know that they don’t want to trade any of their top prospects, as president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has said as much on the record and in trade talks with teams, with top prospects such as Nolan Gorman, Matthew Liberatore and Jordan Walker being their untouchables. Anyone beyond that is anyone’s guess.

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What can the recent deals tell us? Well, the Toronto Blue Jays acquired reliever Brad Hand, a pending free agent who is struggling mightily, for their No. 17 prospect. The Milwaukee Brewers acquired Eduardo Escobar for two non top-30 prospects. The New York Yankees acquired Joey Gallo, who is under contract in 2022, for four prospects in which scouts described as a very good haul for the Texas Rangers.

The Gallo deal falls in line with what the Cardinals are looking for — a controllable asset, though they strongly prefer for it to be in the rotation. One of their targets appears to be Kyle Gibson, who is signed for $7 million next season, and could be had cheaper than expected with Max Scherzer and Jose Berrios likely to be traded.

Maybe the Cardinals can acquire Gibson without having to part with any of their difference-making prospects? That’s what Mozeliak and the front office are hoping for. 24 hours to go. Let the madness begin.