With the trade deadline a little over a month away, the St. Louis Cardinals figure to be one of Major League Baseball’s more active franchises at the deadline with a wide range of possibilities still up for consideration.
Per a report from The Athletic’s Jim Bowden, he expects the Cardinals to be “open-minded” at the trade deadline this year. However, a complete sell-off appears unlikely.
“If things go south in the coming weeks, don’t expect them to turn into traditional sellers,” Bowden said.
“They are committed to building for the long term so expect every move they make between now and the deadline to reflect that approach,” he added.
Bowden also mentions closer Ryan Helsley — who has already tied his career-high with five blown saves — and starting pitchers Erick Fedde and Miles Mikolas as possible trade candidates. Fedde and his 3.54 ERA has been an frontline starter for the Cardinals behind Sunny Gray, while Mikolas has struggled recently, surrendering 13 earned runs in his last three starts. All three are free agents after this season.
Pitching aside, position players such as Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado have been frequently brought up in trade rumors, indicating a potentially busy deadline ahead for St. Louis.
The Cardinals currently sit in second-place in the NL Central, 5.0 games back of the first-place Chicago Cubs, and 2.5 games back of NL’s third wild-card spot. They are currently in the midst of a four-game losing streak and have lost seven of their last 10 games.