3 Cardinals hot takes headed into the second half

It’s prediction season! During this small window before the St. Louis Cardinals resume play, let’s lock in a few hot takes. 

The Redbirds impressed everyone in the first half of the season, yet somehow, they still landed at the same record as last year, headed into the break: 50-45

Fans have seen Jordan Walker rise to baseball stardom, JJ Wetherholt ascend and be locked down for the next eight years, and countless other players manage career years in a surprising turn of events. 

However, nothing is promised, and the Cardinals still have work to do in the second half. 

So let’s dive into three hot takes, getting progressively more outrageous with each one. 

Hot take #1: The Cardinals will call up Quinn Mathews by mid-August

St. Louis’ number six prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Quinn Mathews, has been on a tear. 

This year, he’s got an unprovocative 3.99 ERA, with a WHIP of 1.20. 

Ball four was the young southpaw’s greatest vice in the earlier portion of this season, but after rediscovering the zone, he’s got hitters baffled. 

Since his disastrous start on May 9th against the Toledo Mud Hens, in which he was knocked around for six earned runs through 1.1 innings, Mathews has been one of the Cardinals’ hottest prospects. 

In his last seven starts, he owns a 1.83 ERA and has turned down the dial on ball four. 

The 25-year-old is nearing decision time, and conveniently enough, St. Louis has multiple lanes readily available. 

Matthew Liberatore, the Cardinals' opening-day starter this year, has been nothing short of untrustworthy. 

His five ERA on the dot through 19 starts isn’t MLB quality.

If it weren’t for a timely matchup against a struggling Braves offense, the Cardinals may have already pulled the plug on Liberatore’s season. 

Then, in the bullpen, St. Louis’ only left-handers are JoJo Romero and Justin Bruihl. Romero has been coveted across the league as a trade chip, and if he leaves, Bruihl won’t be enough to lean on. 

This works because the Cardinals have options. Demote Libby, and straight-up pencil in Mathews. Send Liberatore to the pen after trading Romero, and slot Mathews into the rotation. Or simply trade Romero and call up Mathews as a reliever for his cup of coffee. 

Fans will have to wait and see, but this feels like a no-brainer down the stretch. 

Hot take #2: Cardinals trade Lars Nootbaar, call up Joshua Báez 

Lars Nootbaar has been one of St. Louis’ most consistent baseball players—when he plays baseball. 

Báez has gotten better every year and is well on his way to smashing home runs at the big league level. 

With Nootbaar’s injury history and Báez’s soaring production, this could be the solution to maintaining competitiveness while selling softly. 

Since coming back from the injured list, Nootbaar has lengthened the St. Louis lineup and brought his always-energetic self back to a ballpark that had been buzzing all year. 

It won’t be easy. It might be the hardest goodbye to an outfielder since Harrison Bader, but at some point you can’t ignore Báez’s potential on all sides of the baseball. 

St. Louis doesn’t even have to throw Báez into the flames right away. Nathan Church and José Fermín have both played center field this year. 

The Cardinals have an opportunity to acquire ROI on Nootbaar and grant Báez the chance he’s earned. There’s no room to blow this one. Chaim Bloom has a knack for tough decisions, and he’ll need that to remain true in this scenario. 

Hot take #3: The Cardinals make the playoffs in the final series of the year, against the Milwaukee Brewers

It isn’t a hot take to say the Cardinals will miss the postseason. Nor is it one to say they’ll make it. 

Both camps have legitimate reasons for why they either believe or don’t believe in this year’s roster. 

However, in this timeline, everything is lining up for St. Louis to sneak in right at the end.

A team that’s one year early, full of young talent and energy, and that has the national media’s attention. 

Milwaukee is set to run away with the NL Central yet again. The Reds have fallen off almost entirely. The Pirates are stuck in the middle, and the Cubs are one of MLB’s most inconsistent teams, which is always closer to a ten-game losing streak than a good night's sleep. 

That leaves St. Louis. What have the Cardinals been all year? Resilient. They’ve fought tooth and nail until the final out is recorded in every game they’ve played. 

Wetherholt proved this in Pittsburgh. Winn proved it in Houston. Walker proved it during the Home Run Derby in Philadelphia. "Quit" isn’t a word that manager Oliver Marmol has taught these Redbirds, and that’s why the final week of the season will see a playoff berth clinched. 

The Brewers will likely be resting their best players for October baseball, and St. Louis will be coming off a lower-echelon strength-of-schedule for the entirety of the second half, hopefully creating momentum. 

With his soon-to-be golden glove, envision Wetherholt nabbing a Jake Bauers popout to lock down the Cardinals’ 89th win and send them to their first postseason appearance since 2022. 

Prediction? Or foreshadowing? Depends on who you ask. If you’d asked me, I’d tell you it’s a hot take. And only time will tell. 

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