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

Albert Pujols #5 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates after hitting his second home run of the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium on August 14, 2022 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
Albert Pujols #5 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates after hitting his second home run of the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium on August 14, 2022 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /
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DENVER, COLORADO – AUGUST 11: Nolan Gorman #16 of the St Louis Cardinals circles the bases after hitting a solo hoe run against the Colorado Rockies in the third inning at Coors Field on August 11, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO – AUGUST 11: Nolan Gorman #16 of the St Louis Cardinals circles the bases after hitting a solo hoe run against the Colorado Rockies in the third inning at Coors Field on August 11, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

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.