Trade Deadline is Best Thing to Happen to St. Louis Cardinals

The 2022 trade deadline was full of speculation for the St. Louis Cardinals, and after adding two key arms to their rotation, it was worth it.

The St. Louis Cardinals were the source of constant rumors and speculation throughout the month of July, linked to superstar outfield Juan Soto as well as pitching targets such as Frankie Montas and Luis Castillo. The deadline could have gone many different directions for the ballclub, and yet what we are seeing right now may have been the best case scenario.

Since the August 2nd trade deadline, the Cardinals are 12-3 and have looked like a team that is on a mission to not only lock up the NL Central, but be in the conversation with teams like the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Atlanta Braves for the National League pennant.

The club’s biggest need was clearly starting pitching, and they were able to bring in two veteran starters in Jordan Montgomery and Jose Quintana. Along with those additions, the club also acquired reliever Chris Stratton and catcher Austin Allen, who both can provide depth for St. Louis down the stretch.

After so much buzz about many different players being on their way out to acquire star level talent, the only significant loss for the club in these deals was center fielder Harrison Bader, who had ultimately become expendable with the amount of outfield options the club had.

There are a variety of factors that play into why this trade deadline was such a success for the Cardinals. The players they have added are already making major impacts, the players they have kept seem unfazed by their names being in the headlines for a month, and the club as a whole has renewed energy about them.

Let’s look more in depth about how this trade deadline has already paid major dividends for St. Louis.

Trade talks have seemed to inspire the young guys

Baseball is a business. And yet, the human element of the game will never go away. So when young players see their names attached to trade proposals for over a month, and insiders begin to report on their availability, it has the potential to mess with their psyche.

On deadline day and in the days following, reports leaked out that many of these young players, who have been the subject of rumors, were mostly off the table in many of these packages and were even informed by the club that they would not be dealt. Some players may have been upset by the constant rumors, but others may have taken this as a confidence boost about how much the organization believes in their talent.

One player that seems to have risen to the occasion is second baseman Nolan Gorman. The Cardinals rookie slugger has a 1.011 OPS over the last 14 days, showing that he is more than capable of mashing major league pitching and remains confident in spite of the rumors. Gorman has only played with the club for 67 games so far this season and may very well end up with 20+ HRs before the season is over.

Lars Nootbaar has also taken his new opportunities in stride, slashing .258/.395/.419 with 7 RBI this month. Nootbaar has received the majority of the starts in the outfield in this timeframe and looks to be doing his best to hold onto the starting role as long as he can.

Dylan Carlson has had an up and down August thus far, but over the last 7 days, his slash line has moved to .294/.381/.471 and looks to be regaining his confidence at the plate. A ton of faith was placed in Carlson this deadline by holding onto the 23-year old and making him the everyday center fielder, and he is beginning to live up to that expectation. His defense in center has been phenomenal, and if the bat catches up, he is a special player.

If these guys and some of the other young talent on this roster continue to produce in light of the deadline, this club will be in a great position come October. But for as much as the young guys have stepped up their game as of late, the veterans in the clubhouse seem to as well.

The deadline moves have energized this veteran group

Perhaps the biggest storyline of all relating to this trade deadline is how much these moves have seemed to energize the St. Louis veteran core. None have been hotter than the greatest right hander of this generation, Albert Pujols.

Over his last 30 games, Pujols is slashing .342/.391/.671 with 7 HR and 18 RBI and has been a huge spark plug for the club game in and game out. His 1.062 OPS has him looking like prime Albert Pujols, especially against left handed pitching. Over the course of the season, Pujols is slashing .363/.402/.700 against left handers, making him one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball against southpaws.

MVP candidates Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado have continued to be lights out as of late, both posting an OPS of 1.183 and 1.052 respectively over the last 28 days. Veteran OF Corey Dickerson has gotten into the action as well, sporting a .884 OPS in that same timeframe.

Back from his spell in AAA, shortstop Paul DeJong has looked the most confident he has since his All-Star campaign in 2019, slashing .255/.344/.564 with 4 HR and 13 RBI over his last 28 days. Bringing another power bat back into the lineup in conjunction with the trades the club made has been a huge boost to a roster that was struggling a bit prior to the deadline.

Many of the other veterans on the club are seeing boosts in performance as of late as well, and that is a sign of a club that believes in themselves and feels supported by their front office. The Cardinals management was able to walk the fine line of adding talent at positions of need while not shaking up their nucleus, creating reason for each of the players on their roster to be excited about where the club is going.