Here is the blueprint for the St. Louis Cardinals to win the MLB trade deadline

Capitalizing on the value of impending free agents and aggressively pursuing upgrades for 2024 would lead to the Cardinals winning the trade deadline.

Houston Astros v St. Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros v St. Louis Cardinals | Scott Kane/GettyImages
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7. Trade-off pieces like Tyler O'Neill, Paul DeJong, and Chris Stratton for assets

Outside of their top three "selling" assets in Montgomery, Hicks, and Flaherty, the Cardinals have a few other names they could get value from.

Tyler O'Neill feels about as good as gone from the Cardinals this deadline. Some team is going to take a flyer on him as a bounce-back candidate for the second half, and he's also under team control through next year.

There are a few contenders out there that need shortstop help, and Paul DeJong has quietly been one of the better shortstops in the game this year. He has a club option for 2024, so the Cardinals can sell that to teams as well, or keep him and explore a deal again in the offseason. I like the idea of clearing a path for Masyn Winn to debut this year, though.

Chris Stratton is a guy I am sure a contender will target as bullpen depth. He's not a high-leverage guy, but he is pretty reliable and teams need as many bullpen arms as they can get for a stretch run.

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