Cardinals' unexpected success creates defining trade deadline dilemma

The St. Louis Cardinals' hot start to the 2026 season has the fanbase hopeful for a competitive season for this rebuilding club, but such a run from this club could force the front office to make really unpopular decisions come July.

Riley O'Brien has to be the face of that potential dilemma.

Putting all of the necessary prefaces aside that the Cardinals have to maintain a strong start to the season through the summer for this to appear to be a dilemma, but considering the Cardinals have a .591 winning percentage right now and are technically tied for the second NL Wild Card spot, it's interesting to wonder how Chaim Bloom would handle the fate of their excellent closer if they remained in contention.

O'Brien, who has yet to allow an earned run in his first 12 appearances out of the Cardinals bullpen this year, is using his dynamite stuff on the mound to close out games for St. Louis, which has surely caught the attention of the rest of baseball.

Bloom appeared on the Dealin' the Cards podcast this weekend for an hour-long interview, and specifically addressed the question of whether the Cardinals were still prioritizing accumulating talent for the future over short-term gains, and the Cardinals president of baseball operations was clear that the stance remains.

"Yeah, it absolutely still is, and I think that is really important," Bloom told me on the Dealin' the Cards podcast. "We're all really happy with, even aside from what the record happens to be sitting here this morning, culturally the vibe, the way guys are getting after it, we are really happy with how we've gotten out of the gate in that regard. Everything that we thought was true, I certainly believe, like when I was introduced in the fall, I wanted to be very blunt about that and be very explicit that this is something that we need to have front and center, really, for multiple years. That's how we need to think about this. And the more we are able to stick with that, the quicker it will turn around.

"So yes, absolutely, it still is really important," Bloom concluded. "And so I would expect there will still be hard decisions. It's one of the toughest things to do in this game."

You can find our full conversation with Bloom on the Dealin' the Cards YouTube channel or whether you listen to audio podcasts. When you listen to Bloom discuss the need to stay focused on acquiring young talent, it's hard not to see how an arm like O'Brien fits the mold of a tough but necessary decision to make during a rebuild.

Trading Riley O'Brien at the deadline will be necessary if he's pitching well.

When I asked Bloom that question, I fully expected him to reiterate that the Cardinals are still in a season of prioritizing what is best for the future of the organization over short-term gratification, and that doesn't just apply to not making a huge free agent signing or going out and buying at a trade deadline. That same logic applies to capitalizing on the value of players who likely won't be as valuable to the club when it's time for the Cardinals to be a true contender once again.

That's not to take anything away from their early-season success, but Bloom is right to preach "stay the course" even in the midst of a fun start to the year. If the Cardinals can continue that momentum coming up to the trade deadline, the best thing for the trajectory of the franchise would not be to hold onto O'Brien, JoJo Romero, or any other high-performing veterans, but instead be to capitalize on their trade value.

Bloom referred to the Brendan Donovan trade as a perfect example of that this offseason, and even stressed how that trade was especially difficult compared to moving Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, or Nolan Arenado. Donovan was still young enough to impact the future of the club and is arguably in his prime, and yet Bloom understood that the young talent they could bring back in a trade was necessary to jump-start the rebuild and was more closely aligned to their long-term goals than holding Donovan would be.

In a similar way, fans can make the argument for why holding onto O'Brien is necessary. The Cardinals have him under club control for three more seasons beyond 2027, and he's one of the best closers in baseball at the moment. Considering how bad the Cardinals bullpen has been outside of him and Romero, trading O'Brien away would likely kill any chance of the Cardinals being a surprise team this year in terms of contention. But again, Bloom is far more interested in strengthening the club for long-term success than sacrificing future value for the chance to sneak into the playoffs in this stage of the rebuild.

The same applies to the fate of Romero, Dustin May, Lars Nootbaar, heck, even someone like Alec Burleson may end up being traded before the Cardinals are ready to shift more weight to short-term gains.

Again, the Cardinals could very easily fall out of contention before the end of July and make these decisions very easy for the public to understand. But even if the club is winning ballgames and the city is enjoying the good vibes, Bloom is ready to make tough decisions on this roster for the sake of the future, even if it will ruffle some feathers.

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