St. Louis Cardinals should approach the 2025 trade deadline using this strategy

2024 trade deadline

The Cardinals found themselves on the bounce-back in 2024. The team had a winning record heading into the trade deadline and were in close enough contention for the Wild Card to buy in July. In order to do so, they continued their trend to sell off an expiring contract to supplement the roster. In arguably the biggest trade made, the Cardinals made a major change to help their playoff push. Longtime Cardinal and fan favorite Tommy Edman was traded to the Dodgers in a three-team swap that landed the Cardinals starting pitcher Erick Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham from the White Sox. Edman at the time was battling a lingering wrist injury and had little to no hope to return in a contributing way for the Cardinals.

They decided to patch the weakness in the rotation with Fedde and add a right-handed bat to platoon the outfield to help with balancing the lineup match-ups. The trade ended up not helping the Cardinals, as the team failed to make the postseason and ended up releasing Pham weeks later. Edman would find his way back into regular playing time with the Dodgers and ended up becoming a postseason hero for them in their 2024 World Series run. Many fans are still upset about the overall results of this trade, but business is business.

With this deadline outlook, how can the Cardinals replicate this strategy for 2025? The quickest answer, which was mentioned prior, is trading All-Star closer Ryan Helsley. He has the most value of any asset on the roster and is in his walk year. The time has never been better to deal Helsley, especially with contending teams desperate to add a high-leverage reliever to carry them through the postseason. The Cardinals can use Helsley similarly to the Edman deal, where they get MLB pieces in return to supplement their 2025 team to continue to compete. Or they can receive prospect capital aiming towards the future, which is the organization's main focus. Another route would be finding a deal for Nolan Arenado.

After several attempts to deal him fell through, they can reattempt negotiations with teams looking to add a future Hall of Fame third baseman. After seeing the results of the Rafael Devers trade, the return might not be as strong as it could've been during this past offseason. Freeing up third base for young players to continue developing and shedding the remaining contract for Arenado would be a positive outlook for the team going forward. Even if the return ends up being several lower-tier minor league prospects, they can still develop within the Cardinals system with the chance to contribute over a longer period of time.