3 nightmare scenarios for Cardinals at this year's MLB Trade Deadline

The St. Louis Cardinals are at a crossroads at this year's trade deadline. We know they are buyers - but does the club seize the opportunity that appears to be there in a weakened National League? Or do they make incremental improvements, playing it safe and hoping for the best?

Both scenarios have their pros and cons, and we've talked about that plenty, but I did want to take a look at those "nightmare" scenarios that would make us look back on this deadline with disdain. I highly doubt there will be universal praise for what the Cardinals do this year, but if any of these three things happen, I think it's likely the Cardinals hear criticism all around.

Nightmare #1 - More "fringe" teams decide to buy or stand pat rather than sell

Whether we like it or not, John Mozeliak's comments this past Sunday are true - the trade market and what is available to the Cardinals will be significantly impacted by who decides to sell and who tries to stay in the race.

The nightmare scenario for St. Louis would be that teams like the Rangers, Rays, Tigers, Giants, Nationals, and Blue Jays either do not sell or are unwilling to move most of their pieces. This would further shrink the amount of players that are available on the trade market, making it even more difficult for the Cardinals to address their needs.

Hear me when I say more difficult, not impossible. It would not necessarily be a valid excuse for St. Louis not to be aggressive, but it sure would drive up the price it would take for them to pull off the moves we want them to. This is even the case with teams we know will sell like the White Sox, Marlins, and Athletics. If names like Garrett Crochet, Luis Robert, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Brent Rooker, and Mason Miller are not moved, then other players that are available become even more valuable.

The Cardinals need more teams to sell. If not, I'm afraid they will likely be conservative at best.

Nightmare #2 - The Cardinals go after a starter who is not an upgrade over any of their current arms

The Cardinals rotation is currently filled with one front-line starter (Sonny Gray), one middle-of-the-rotation starter (Kyle Gibson), and three back-of-the-rotation starters (Andre Pallante, Miles Mikolas, and Lance Lynn). If the Cardinals acquire another back-end of the rotation type of guy as the only starter they acquire, it would be an awful move in my opinion.

First, the Cardinals need another front end of the rotation name, not another innings eater or quality starts guru. They need a guy who can go toe-to-toe with some of the best pitchers in baseball down the stretch and in the postseason. I'm looking at names like Nathan Eovaldi, Jack Flaherty, Max Scherzer, Kevin Gausman, Erick Fedde, and Chris Bassit for that range.

Second, Andre Pallante would be the name that most likely booted from the rotation, and he has been their best starter since joining the rotation. Adding a name like Austin Gomber, Cal Quantrill, Tyler Anderson, or whatever back-end arm they could acquire would be a lateral move at best.

I don't hate the idea of grabbing a front-end guy and another back-end arm as insurance, but if they are just going to acquire a back-end starter, I'd rather them not acquire one at all. If they are going to play cheap with starting pitching, then just focus on upgrading the bullpen and grabbing a right-handed bat instead. A back-end of the rotation arm does not move the needle for this club, but strengthening the bullpen further and adding a bat would.

The Cardinals have been consistently linked to names in both categories, so it will be interesting to see what they pull off. But if they plan on going after the low-hanging fruit, just save us the nightmare and don't.