MLB Insider gives insight to Cardinals' deadline plans

With three weeks until the trade deadline passes, the St. Louis Cardinals find themselves in the "buyers" bucket. After losing two games in one day to the Kansas City Royals, the Cardinals sit at 48-44; they are five games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first in the National League Central, and they are narrowly edging out the San Diego Padres and New York Mets with the second Wild Card spot.

Parity is the word of the year for Major League Baseball in 2024. Only the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies can call themselves complete teams at this point. Cleveland, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and Atlanta could all use at least one starting pitcher. The Yankees need serious help on the infield. There aren't many clearly dominant teams in baseball this year, especially in the National League.

A weaker National League presents an opportunity for the Cardinals to really make a splash this deadline. It isn't John Mozeliak's modus operandi to conduct major transactions at the deadline, but perhaps this is the year he lets loose. The Cardinals' farm system was restocked fairly well last year, they hold a top-7 pick in the draft for the first time since 1998. Also, the Cardinals have ample major league talent they could trade from so the farm system can remain untouched.

Ken Rosenthal recently made an appearance on the Foul Territory podcast. Rosenthal outlined the most likely outcome for the Cardinals this trade deadline, and he posited that the team will add "complementary" assets to a lineup that just got Lars Nootbaar and Willson Contreras back and will see Tommy Edman and Riley O'Brien return soon after the All-Star Break.

(Being aggressive) would go counter to the way they've generally operated in the past. I don't know that we've seen them make many dramatic moves at the deadline. The Cardinals have not necessarily shown aggressiveness during July and the deadline, period.

Rosenthal went on to detail the flaws with the Dodgers and Braves that present an opportunity for the Cardinals to steal the top Wild Card spot, the division, or even the show in the postseason. Don't be too optimistic, though, as Ken Rosenthal doubled down on the fact that the Cardinals will most likely be making "complementary" moves at the deadline, per their history.

Nick Castellanos and Zach Greinke could have been had in 2019. In 2021, St. Louis could have traded for Max Scherzer, but they chose J.A. Happ and Jon Lester. In 2022, Juan Soto was available, but Mozeliak shied away and trusted his outfield crop at the time, though Harrison Bader was dealt for Jordan Montgomery that same year. The secondary tier of players is where John Mozeliak does his most frequent shopping this time of year, and the same will likely occur this year.

There aren't many "big fish" at the deadline that would help the Cardinals; Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. are available, but they both come with serious concerns of their own -- wear and tear primarily. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is an option, but does he truly move the needle on this year's outlook much? Mason Miller is rumored to be worth a king's ransom that the Cardinals likely can't or won't match. Brent Rooker could be on the move, but his defensive liabilities lower his ceiling a fair amount.

Rather, the Cardinals will likely find themselves linked to guys like Tyler Anderson, Zach Eflin, Tanner Scott, Randal Grichuk, and Yusei Kikuchi. These players are firmly in the second tier of trade candidates, and they won't tank the farm system that was in shambles last year.

However, in a year with very few truly dominant teams, perhaps the Cardinals should consider going all in with their current roster, especially if cornerstones Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado turn it around these next few weeks.