John Mozeliak: Pitching will be priority at trade deadline for Cardinals

President of baseball operations John Mozeliak says that pitching will be the priority at the trade deadline for the St. Louis Cardinals.

While many outside observers have clamored for the St. Louis Cardinals to begin pursuing pitching upgrades, the organization has preached patience. Jack Flaherty should be back shortly after the All-Star break while Steven Matz is getting closer to returning off the Injured List. That should give the rotation much-needed life and depth.

With less than a month until the trade deadline, the front office has (finally) changed their tune. They have admitted that the pitching staff needs addressed, with Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak telling reporters (including Katie Woo of The Athletic) that “pitching will be at the forefront” of how they approach the deadline.

It’s likely that the Cardinals will explore upgrades in both the rotation and bullpen. The rotation could prove a bit challenging to upgrade, considering that Frankie Montas, Kyle Hendricks and Tyler Mahle are all injured. It leaves limited depth, at least right now, on the starting pitching market. But it’s possible that new names enter the market (Carlos Rodon? Shane Bieber?) while Mozeliak has shown an ability to successfully identify under-the-radar veteran arms in the past (Jon Lester and J.A. Happ).

Acquiring a reliever should prove significantly easier, as the market will be flush with options. But the Cardinals have a solid set of late inning relievers in Ryan Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos, so it’s possible that any reliever they look for will pitch in the seventh inning or perhaps sooner, which would take them out of the big names such as David Bednar, among others.

As of this writing, it’s July 8. There are 25 days until the trade deadline and trade talks are unlikely to heat up until after the All-Star break. But from that moment until Aug. 2, the Cardinals are going to be connected to a lot of names in the pitching market. Buckle up. It should be a good time.