Could the St. Louis Cardinals buy and sell this at this trade deadline?

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During the All-Star Break, the questions among the Cardinal fan base on how the Front Office would approach the Trade Deadline were answered.

President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak spoke with Martin Kilcoyne on the Kilcoyne Conversation about what the Cardinals could try to do before the end of the calendar month of July with the current roster. Even though Mozeliak mentioned that they will not "wave the white flag" this season, they will make moves that will "focus on the 2024 team".

It's hard ever to expect the Cardinals to "blow it up" because they always seem to be in the thick of things late in the year, but just about everybody is starting to realize that the Cardinals' chances of getting back in contention are bleak. With Mozeliak saying that he will look at moves that will improve the 2024 team is implying that this will not be a rebuild, but a way to set themselves up better for next season.

Regarding the current Cardinals rotation, Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty are pending free agents. They could possibly be traded, and with Adam Wainwright retiring upon season's end that doesn't leave the Cardinals with much starting pitching to work with next season. The glaring need for pitching is obvious, so if Montgomery and Flaherty are out the door potentially soon, how can the Cardinals approach it?

Flip Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty while still adding Major League-ready starting pitching.

The Cardinals would be wise to test the market for pending free agent pitchers Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty with how well they have both been pitching recently to see what they could get in return. The same applies to Jordan Hicks who has looked sharp since taking over the closer role, There have also been recent reports that the Cardinals could be interested in acquiring pitcher Logan Gilbert from Seattle.

Gilbert, 26, is a right-hander that has been steady this season in Seattle, putting up almost a strikeout an inning and has been efficient with limiting traffic on the bases (0.98 WHIP across 108 innings). He is also not arbitration eligible until 2025 and several years away from free agency, Gilbert could fill a current need for the Cards while also helping the rotation in the future.

Getting young MLB-ready pitching under contract beyond this season would be very beneficial for the Cardinals to try and fix a rotation that has been unreliable for the most part over the past few seasons. Unless the front office plans on spending money on starting pitching in the off-season, this would be the way to go in an attempt to get some stability within the rotation. But how else could the Cardinals approach things?

The Cardinals could look to move a hitter or two for Major League ready pitching.

Using some of the Cardinals' better hitters as trade bait to see what contending teams could offer for them is something St. Louis might do. I do not mean Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, if the front office is focusing on the team outlook in 2024 then they would want their far and away two best players to be on that club. Looking at the position players, like Tyler O'Neill, Dylan Carlson, Tommy Edman, and others could be traded whether it's for a change of scenery or to clear room for an uprising prospect.

In the Cardinals' case, it could be shortstop Masyn Winn. who is tearing it up in Triple-A. And the Cardinals could move minor league prospects that may not have a route to the big leagues in St. Louis where they can get consistent playing time. Will sluggers Luken Baker and Moises Gomez get at-bats in the big leagues? And if Willson Contreras is under contract until 2027, what do you do with Ivan Herrera? Or with other minor league catchers like Leonardo Bernal or Jimmy Crooks? Those are some guys you could see on the move to help improve the pitching staff right now.

There are contending teams that could be looking for a bat at the trade deadline. Teams like the Guardians, Marlins, Twins, and Brewers are all in a playoff spot or just outside looking in, and they are all in the bottom 3rd of the league in runs per game this season. Would any of those teams be willing to trade away one of their starters to try and add some thump to their lineup down the stretch?

We saw a trade last season among two buyers when the Cardinals traded Harrison Bader to the Yankees for Jordan Montgomery, two teams filling a need for the stretch run to the postseason. You could definitely see these contending teams reaching out to the Cardinals to try and improve their offense, and it could make a good trade partner for the Cards as both teams would be looking to add something they desperately need.

So could we see the Cardinals trade off pending free agents and acquire starting pitching to help the team win now and in the future for prospects on the same deadline? Absolutely. But will we? I have my doubts. A lot of things would have to go right to make that happen. But at the end of the day, the Front Office will have to ask themselves if it's worth it to hang on to players who will hit free agency after the season and take the risk of losing them for nothing in what is a lost season. And they have to realize that three of your starting pitchers could be gone next season, some arms will need to come in and replace those guys. You'd hate to waste an opportunity to acquire someone that can bolster your rotation right now and for years to come.

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This Trade Deadline for the Cardinals will be one of the most important deadlines they've ever had. The 2023 season has been an extremely disappointing year, but they still have a chance to salvage something out of it.

Next. 5 trade destinations for Carlson. 5 trade destinations for Dylan Carlson. dark

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