Two Areas The Cardinals May Need To Address At The Trade Deadline

The Cardinals are entering the 2023 season as the presumed favorites to win the NL Central division.

While the Cubs and Brewers may be tough customers, all signs point to the Cardinals having the clearest path to their second straight division title. The offense looks strong with Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Tyler O'Neill, Tommy Edman, and Brendan Donovan. The bullpen should also be a strength.

However, when I look at the Cardinals as they currently stand, nothing screams "World Series contender." There are plenty of question marks that are still lingering and may need to be addressed.

For example, the starting rotation is far from a sure thing. With Adam Wainwright's velocity struggles and his recent injury, as well as both Steven Matz and Jack Flaherty returning from injury-plagued seasons, there is a potential cause for concern. The Cardinals had the opportunity to add some starting pitching over the winter but settled for Andrew Suarez on a minor-league deal.

While that isn't a bad deal by any means, better options were available. Obviously, they were never going to pursue the likes of Carlos Rodon, Justin Verlander, and Jacob deGrom, trades were possible and there were several serviceable starters on the free agent market such as Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Wacha, Chris Bassitt, and Noah Syndergaard.

Much to the dismay of fans, the Cardinals passed on all of them.

With that being said, however, the trade deadline will present another opportunity to add some additional pieces.

Here are two areas that the Cardinals may need to address at the deadline.

Starting Pitching

This one may be quite obvious.

Each year since 2011, the Cardinals have had a starter get hurt either in spring training or early in the season and ultimately miss the vast majority of the year. Adam Wainwright just went down with a groin injury, that should sideline him for at least a month.

Ultimately, the past is the past. But the trade deadline will present another opportunity. It's impossible to speculate who they might target at this point, but we've talked about the potential of them adding a frontline guy such as Shane Bieber or Dylan Cease, or if not necessarily a frontline starter, somebody who is at least proven and has strikeout stuff, which often plays well in the postseason.

With the Guardians and White Sox both expected to contend, Cease and Bieber may be off-limits, but trying for somebody like former Cardinal Lance Lynn wouldn't be a bad idea. And with the outfield not 100% set just yet, it's very possible that somebody like Dylan Carlson could be the odd man out, and therefore be used to land a pitcher.