Grading the St. Louis Cardinals trade deadline moves

The St. Louis Cardinals were in the thick of many different rumors throughout July, and pulled off a few deals. How do all of these moves grade?

The trade deadline was an eventful one for the St. Louis Cardinals, as the club pulled off three different trades, and missed out on the biggest deal not only of the deadline, but perhaps MLB history.

Like very trade deadline, media and fans begin to give grades to different moves, and make conclusions about how the club fared and where they are going the rest of this season. While it is unfair to truly grade moves, especially with season left to play and the unknown of what prospects will become, it is a helpful exercise for all involved.

The three deals the Cardinals made all looked to improve the clubs pitching staff. The starting rotation, bullpen, and organizational depth were all improved for a low output, meaning the club was able to fill their biggest need and not strip their trade chips to do so.

There was a lot the club did not do as well though. They did not match the Nationals asking price in the Juan Soto sweepstakes, and they did not put in the pieces necessary to acquire the top arms on the trade market. If you replay this deadline 100 times, the Cardinals would come out with Soto, a bigger arm, or other items in some of those scenarios, but the most likely ended to the deadline was always what ended up happening.

While the final analysis of these deals will not happen for a few years, it is time to go ahead and give grades to each of the trades that St. Louis made at the 2022 trade deadline.