The St. Louis Cardinals held a 15-24 record in early May and were seemingly destined to be sellers at the MLB trade deadline. Two months later, the Cardinals reportedly have a roster advantage that could help them considerably as buyers.
Since starting the season 15-24, the Cardinals have ascended up the MLB standings with the third-best record (32-18) in baseball in the last 50 games. Pitching (3.74 ERA) has been very good for St. Louis and the team is performing well despite several key players being on the injured list.
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The team’s turnaround happened in part because of the depth of the Cardinals roster and some young players who stepped up when pressed into bigger roles. Now that St. Louis is back in contention, that depth could make an even bigger difference in trade negotiations.
As explained by Fox Sports’ MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, the Cardinals will be buyers at the MLB trade deadline and they will have an added edge because of their major-league depth.
“They have major-league pieces to trade and major-league pieces in this market are going to be valuable because with so many teams in contention in this era of the expanded playoffs, teams are not going to want to give up necessarily prospects or make certain kinds of moves.”
Ken Rosenthal on the St. Louis Cardinals at the MLB trade deadline
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Among the potential Cardinals trade candidates Rosenthal mentioned are catcher Ivan Herrera and outfielder Dylan Carlson. With catcher Willson Contreras in the Cardinals lineup regularly and 25-year-old Pedro Pages emerging as a solid backup option, Herrera becomes expendable.
Likewise, the looming returns of outfielder Lars Nootbar and utility man Tommy Edman could make Carlson expendable. St. Louis also has a little depth on the pitching side, which it could use to package with prospects for upgrades.
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Perhaps most importantly for St. Louis, the ability to pair major-league talent with some lower-level prospects means the team could keep its best young talent in the minor leagues. While none of this means the Cardinals will make the biggest move at the MLB trade deadline, the club’s depth could result in several trades that will improve the team.