This win-win trade for the Cardinals is right up John Mozeliak's alley this deadline

It's June, so it's time to start fantasizing about the trade deadline. The St. Louis Cardinals' strong May performance has opened them up to the possibility of being buyers at this year's deadline, according to team president of baseball operations, John Mozeliak.

However, don't expect Mozeliak to peddle top prospects for burgeoning stars at the major-league level. Instead, more marginal moves that don't affect the farm system will be made. It's possible some top prospects are traded away, but top players like Quinn Mathews, JJ Wetherholt, Tink Hence, Tekoah Roby, and Rainiel Rodriguez aren't going anywhere.

Therefore, John Mozeliak will have to get creative with his trades. Jettisoning major leaguers for other contributors is the most likely route for the trade deadline this year, and we have some previous trades to look at for examples.

At the 2021 trade deadline, the Cardinals were searching for veteran starting pitchers. They made two trades, one for 38-year-old starter J.A. Happ and another for Jon Lester, 37. To acquire these pitchers, the Cardinals traded away youngsters John Gant and Lane Thomas, respectively.

By this point, John Gant had thrown nearly 300 innings for the Cardinals as both a starter and a reliever, and he had a 3.52 ERA while striking out 7.5 batters per nine innings. He was a known commodity, and John Mozeliak saw greater value in a veteran like J.A. Happ.

Lane Thomas was less seasoned than Gant, but he still logged 142 plate appearances across parts of three seasons with the Cardinals with a .172/.289/.336 slash line. Neither Gant nor Thomas were known as exceptional prospects, and their trades netted the Cardinals valuable veteran experience down the stretch of the 2021 season.

John Mozeliak could make trades like those — trading away a young player without a stellar track record for a veteran — would be feasible for John Mozeliak in his final trade deadline.

Mo could also choose to swap with another team in a trade similar to the one involving Erick Fedde and Tommy Edman last year. The Cardinals have a few logjams on the position side of the game, so they could trade a position player for a talented starting pitcher.

However, I have a third type of trade that might bode well for the Cardinals.

Change-of-scenery candidates Nolan Gorman of the St. Louis Cardinals and Reid Detmers of the Los Angeles Angels would make sense for either team to trade for.

Reid Detmers, once a former top-100 prospect in all of baseball, is still only 25 years old. He's pitched in 24 games this year with a 5.60 ERA. While his ERA isn't great, he hasn't allowed a run in his last nine games dating back to May 20th. Los Angeles has actually been using Detmers as its closer these last three games on June 3rd, 6th, and 7th, and he's recorded three saves during that time.

For most of his career, Detmers has been used as a starting pitcher. The southpaw has a career 4.95 ERA, and he's averaged 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings, a respectable figure. Detmers's transition to the bullpen only enhances his usefulness for the Cardinals. He was also listed as a good "change-of-scenery" trade candidate by Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

The Cardinals have their own player in infielder Nolan Gorman, who could use a change of scenery, too.

Gorman was talked about all offseason as a player who would see 500 at-bats this year to prove his worth. We are well over a third of the way through the season, and Gorman is on pace for less than 300 at-bats. He's fallen in the depth chart behind other players on the roster, and time is running out for manager Oliver Marmol to get Gorman playing time.

Nolan is slashing .210/.299/.350 this year with two home runs and a wRC+ of 82. He's managed to drop his strikeout rate to 29.1% while raising his walk rate to 12% so far this year, and his plate discipline is much improved. However, his .140 ISO shows that he's sacrificed some of his textbook power for walks.

There's a chance the Cardinals will capitalize on the trade value that Steven Matz has garnered this year due to his success as a swingman. If the Cardinals are still in contention by that time, they'll need to backfill his role. Someone internal, like Gordon Graceffo, could fill that role, but Mozeliak could also look outside the organization to replace Matz.

Detmers could fit that bill.

He's a former starting pitcher, he's left-handed, and he has found his niche in relief this year. In return, the Cardinals could send Nolan Gorman to the Angels.

Currently, Los Angeles is playing veteran Chris Taylor at second base. Taylor was designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Dodgers in mid-May, so he could be replaced by Gorman. Gorman would provide balance to a lineup that features seven right-handed hitters.

Both Gorman and Detmers will be free agents after the 2028 season, so the team control

On paper, the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Angels are a good match for a trade this summer. Both Reid Detmers and Nolan Gorman could use a change of scenery, and both could help out the other team for the foreseeable future.