Cardinals Playoff Odds: What are St. Louis’ chances on June 23?

What are the St. Louis Cardinals playoff chances on June 23? They have climbed since early in the month, but take a dip after tough loss on Thursday.

On June 13, the St. Louis Cardinals had a 52.8 percent chance of making the postseason. Only 10 days later, those odds started the day at 61.3 percent. But after a 6-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, those odds have dropped to 56.3 percent, according to FanGraphs.

Still, it’s 3.5 percent better odds than 10 days ago, and gives the Cardinals a better than 50 percent chance of making the postseason.

Considering what has happened throughout the first 72 games of the season, the Cardinals will surely take that. Jack Flaherty missed most of that time. So too has Steven Matz, their prized free-agent addition. Tyler O’Neill has struggled after an MVP-caliber 2021 season while Nolan Arenado has cooled off following a scorching first month of the season.

The Cardinals expect all to contribute this season and should they do that, it’s fair to wonder what this team (40-32) is capable of at full strength. But to dethrone the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and other teams in the National League, they’ll have to seriously explore upgrades before the trade deadline.

For the Cardinals, that will consist of upgrading the pitching staff. The rotation could use reinforcements and more depth to protect itself in case of further injury. This will most likely come in the form of a bottom-of-the-rotation type arm, perhaps along the lines of the Jon Lester and J.A. Happ additions last season. The bullpen will also need upgrading and could see one, perhaps two, new arms by the end of the deadline.

There is a lot of optimism surrounding the Cardinals, and rightfully so. And if they are able to get Flaherty, O’Neill and Arenado back on track, as well as upgrade the pitching staff, they have a chance to be a surprise team in the NL playoff race.