Cardinals at a crossroads: 2 reasons to buy, 2 reasons to sell

The St. Louis Cardinals have shocked everyone so far in the 2025 season. The "reset" Redbirds have overcome all the doubt and adversity presented to them and are one of the better teams across all of MLB.

After reeling off 16 wins over their last 21 games, the race to October looks to be set heading into June. But the Cardinals were not supposed to be in this position. With expectations changing, the team's approach to the trade deadline should also change. 2025 was aimed at being a platform year for young players to prove themselves and be given every opportunity to earn their roster spot.

But with a team showcasing the capability to be a playoff contender, it is time to look at weaknesses to improve upon to continue this momentum. Given the Cardinals are stuck in the mud with this direction at the moment, let's look at two reasons why the team should buy at the deadline and two reasons they should sell.

First reason to buy: Improve pitching

Pitching is at the crux of every contending team trying to improve. In football, defense wins championships. But in baseball, it is pitching, especially a really strong bullpen. Teams go into a frenzy at the trade deadline to patch up any holes in their bullpen to reposition themselves for the October run. The same goes for the Cardinals, with a dire need for upgrading the bullpen. Outside of Phil Maton and Ryan Helsley shutting the door on games and Kyle Leahy carrying the team on his back, the rest of the bullpen is a giant question mark.

As described in one of my most recent articles, the bullpen is ranked 29th in all of MLB in cumulative stats. It has been a revolving door for back-end relievers being called up and sent down, JoJo Romero is trying to find himself again, and John King is somehow a regular on the roster, given his FIP is almost a run higher than his ERA. Can the current patched bullpen be sustainable over the remaining season? If so, do they have enough to hold the team together in a postseason run? The organization is very limited in its internal options in the minor leagues and cannot overuse its reliable options to remain competitive. With players like Steven Matz filling gaps but potentially being shopped during the deadline frenzy, their is much room to add and improve upon.

Even given the success so far from the Starters, does the team or fans expect this to sustain itself? Mikolas got touched up in his most recent start, and team ace Matthew Liberatore got shelled for the first time in 2025. The smoking mirror says to keep the starting five intact, but the reality is that the team could add on to its starting pitching depth or even make a slight upgrade if pitchers like Fedde or Matz are traded at the deadline. Matthew Liberatore is also facing the biggest stretch of his MLB career. The recent flexed reliever is now an established starter, but with limited innings to showcase his ability to handle a 25-30 start workload. To prevent himself from burnout and hindering his highly impressive step forward in 2025, the team could be looking to supplement workload management for Liberatore.

Regardless, the team needs to jump into the reliever market before it gets too expensive for the reset plan. Then listen to offers for the starting pitching market and see what opportunites present themselves.