6 Cardinals who could be traded if they make seller's moves at the deadline

After dropping their third game in a row right before Tuesday's trade deadline and losing in embarrassing fashion to the lowly Washington Nationals, the St. Louis Cardinals may have an exceptionally hard decision at hand. As of right now, it looks like the team will try to add to the roster at the deadline to try to win the division or claim a Wildcard spot. However, now that the team sits 2 games back of a playoff spot in an extremely crowded NL Wildcard race, it may be prudent to sell off pieces in a difficult market to navigate.

""I don’t want to use six days to make a judgment on what we feel in the last two months that we’ve been able to accomplish. There’s a lot of optimism right now in our clubhouse. What we’re trying to do is find ways to get better.”"

John Mozeliak via Katie Woo

According to this quote by Katie Woo of the Athletic (subscription required), it seems like the Cardinals will buy, not letting a rough stretch deter them from doing so; however, that may not be the best idea. If they only make marginal improvements, such as adding a mid-tier starter and uninteresting relief arms, they may waste an opportunity to get a return for some expiring assets. The upgrades that would benefit the Cardinals roster meaningfully will probably be very expensive, as many teams closer to the playoff picture will either stand pat or buy. With their history of being extremely risk averse, St. Louis appears unlikely to make such a swing.

If they do decide to sell, there's a variety of ways they can go about it. They could just offload contracts expiring at the end of the season, but there are a few other assets that could provide a massive return. Here are six Cardinals that could be on the move if the team sells at the trade deadline.