Ranking the Cardinals' needs at the trade deadline

The trade deadline presents an opportunity for teams in the playoff hunt to improve in specific areas. After 100 games or so, the weaknesses of a team are quite clear, and that's exactly the case for the St. Louis Cardinals.

These needs aren't necessarily related to injuries like the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers are experiencing. Rather, the needs of the Cardinals are simply due to holes in the roster and some weak performances by key players.

When shopping at this year's trade deadline, John Mozeliak, the team's president of baseball operations, must identify and acquire players that fill these needs. Due to the competitive nature of the deadline, he will have to get creative or be ready to adjust with contingency plans.

These needs are listed in ascending order, starting with the least important need at the deadline.

3. Right-handed bench bat

With so many left-handed batters in the lineup, the Cardinals are searching for a right-handed bat to offset them, particularly in the outfield. All four of the team's primary outfielders -- Brendan Donovan, Michael Siani, Lars Nootbaar, and Alec Burleson -- hit left-handed. The fifth outfielder, Dylan Carlson, is a switch hitter. Therefore, a right-handed hitter who could occasionally play center field would be a strong addition.

However, this need isn't overly pressing. Despite his struggles this year at the major league level and the organization's insistence (rightfully so) at keeping him in Triple-A Memphis to work on things, the Cardinals have Jordan Walker waiting in the wings. Additionally, Tommy Edman is due back in the near future following a rehab stint. Edman has fared quite well against left-handed pitchers in his career.

The Cardinals' right-handed hitters have a team wRC+ of 102 this year, 11th in the league. If Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado can be even 80% of their career numbers at this point, and if Tommy Edman provides an offensive boost compared to Michael Siani in the outfield, a right-handed bench bat may not be fully necessary, and those resources could be allocated elsewhere.

Due to the team's ample right-handed depth in Ivan Herrera, Jordan Walker, and the imminent return of Tommy Edman, finding a right-handed bench bat should not be the greatest focus for John Mozeliak at the deadline. Players like Randal Grichuk and Tommy Pham would be obvious candidates, but Mo could go big and aim for a player like Brent Rooker or Taylor Ward.

2. Mid-to-high-leverage reliever

This need is actually due to injuries this year. Keynan Middleton, Mozeliak's relief signing this offseason, and Riley O'Brien have both been battling injuries all year. O'Brien has started his rehab stint, but Middleton won't throw a pitch all year.

The Cardinals' bullpen has probably been the team's strongest positional group this year. Ryan Helsley leads the league in saves, and JoJo Romero and Andrew Kittredge have been near the top of the league in holds this year. While some cracks have begun to show amongst the three, they are still reliable arms late in games and in high-leverage situations.

However, they've been deployed relatively frequently this year, and teams are starting to get quite familiar with what was once the best three-headed relief corps in baseball. Therefore, another reliever, particularly a right-handed one who is comfortable in high-leverage situations, should be a primary target for Mozeliak at the deadline.

The Cardinals' relievers have the 4th-best ERA as a staff in baseball. They've thrown the 15th-most innings this year, so fatigue isn't too much of an issue at this point. Regardless, teams could always use bullpen help at this point in the year.

The cost of a reliever isn't always clear at this time of the year. The Kansas City Royals gave up quite a bit to land Washington Nationals' reliever Hunter Harvey a couple of weeks ago; that could provide a template for the remaining teams who wish to make swaps this deadline.

Ideally, this reliever will be a left-handed guy. With John King and Matthew Liberatore being slotted as middle relief guys, JoJo Romero is by himself at the back of the 'pen. A righty to spell Kittredge from time to time would do well, too. Either way, another mid-to-high-leverage reliever would do wonders for an already strong bullpen group.