St Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals committed to selling at the deadline, and it seems likely they will stick to it.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today wrote about the state of the Cardinals, who are 7-3 in their last 10 games and appear to be trending upward, and expressed confidence that the team still wants to maximize on the value that several of their players have.

"The Cardinals, no matter how much the fan base may scream, or their players complain, are still open for business and trading away assets that don't figure to be around next season," Nightengale wrote. 'So, starters Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty, each who are eligible for free agency in November, could be gone. Closer Jordan Hicks and perhaps injured reliever Ryan Helsley. Infielders Tommy Edman and Paul DeJong could be gone too. And outfielders Dylan Carlson and Tyler O'Neill better not send out their laundry, either."

St. Louis, despite the recent solid play, still are several games behind .500 with a 44-55 record and are in fourth place in the NL Central. The Cardinals are 11 games behind the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers and are 9.5 games out of the 3rd NL Wild Card spot.

While the record and distance from a playoff spot make selling at the deadline look like the logical choice, the Cardinals history make that choice notable. The team has not gone below .500 since the 2007 season and made the playoffs in the four seasons preceding 2023.

The team also signed Willson Contreras in free agency, which is a splash they don't normally make, and have 2022 MVP Paul Goldschmidt and eight-time All-Star Nolan Arenado on the roster. Nightengale noted that those two are not on the table in any trade talks and that the team will hope to reset with them in 2024.

The St. Louis Cardinals plan to be sellers at the trade line, but the list of available players likely will not include 10-time Gold Glove winner Nolan Arenado.

It is believed the Cardinals will not trade the third baseman unless Arenado requests it, and there is "no sign of that yet," according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman.

That conclusion was backed by Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak, who said he doubted an Arenado trade would happen, per The Athletic's Katie Woo.

Arenado is signed through 2027. In his third season with the Cardinals, he is slashing .289/.338/.529 through 92 games. For the first time in 11 seasons, it doesn't look like he's destined for the NL Gold Glove (his runs saved total is currently an uncharacteristic -5.)

Mozeliak confirmed to Martin Kilcoyne in "The Kilcoyne Conversation" on July 12 that the Cardinals plan to sell at the trade deadline.

"Right now, I can tell you we're going to trade people," Mozeliak said (h/t The Athletic's Chris Kirschner.) "I just don't know if it's going to be household names or more of guys who are just not likely to be here next year."

This week, however, Mozeliak said "I don't have any intentions of trading anybody like" Arenado or 2022 MVP first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, per Woo.

Unless Arenado decides he wants out, it looks like he might be sticking with the Cardinals for the rest of 2023.

St. Louis Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak has already said the team intends to be active ahead of the trade deadline, but their approach leading up to Aug. 1 doesn't figure to involve a complete roster teardown.

Per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Cardinals right-hander Jack Flaherty is "generating interest" from playoff contenders.

Goold added Seattle Mariners righty Logan Gilbert is of interest to the Cardinals, but it's unclear what it would cost to get him from Seattle.

In an interview with Martin Kilcoyne and Joey Schneider of Fox 2 in St. Louis earlier this week, Mozeliak addressed the Cardinals' struggles throughout the 2023 season.

"When you look at what we've put on paper, it should've worked better, but it didn't," he said. "The front office [and] ownership know we have to do something different. This is not the model we're going to follow. That's something we'll take a hard look at [and] try to address it, but changes will happen."

Mozeliak has insisted Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt won't be traded, and Goold noted two teams have been told the Cardinals aren't interested in dealing Lars Nootbar or Jordan Walker.

Other than that quartet, though, most of the roster could be expendable as the team tries to position itself for a quick turnaround in 2024.

While starting pitching would seem to be the most glaring need for the Cardinals, Flaherty is a pending free agent who has been erratic this season and prone to injuries throughout his career. The 27-year-old has 17 starts so far in 2023, his most in a single season in four years.

Flaherty has allowed zero runs in three of his last five starts, but the two starts mixed in there has seen him give up 10 hits and six earned runs both times.

St. Louis' plan to hang on to young hitters like Nootbar and Walker could make it difficult to acquire a pitcher like Gilbert.

The Mariners will likely be pursuing help in the lineup ahead of the trade deadline if they are going to make a move. They rank 16th in MLB in runs scored, tied for 23rd in on-base percentage, 23rd in slugging percentage and 25th in batting average.

Gilbert also figures to command a significant trade return because he's under control for four more seasons after the 2023 campaign. The 26-year-old has a 3.66 ERA with 87 hits allowed and 106 strikeouts over 108.1 innings in 18 starts this year.

The Cardinals came out of the All-Star break in last place in the NL Central with a 38-52 record. They are on pace to have their first losing season since 2007 and their lowest winning percentage (.422) since 1924.

The St. Louis Cardinals intend to be active around the MLB trade deadline. Beyond that, president of baseball operations John Mozeliak can't tell you much more.

"Right now, I can tell you, we're going to trade people, you just don't know if it's going to be household names or guys who are more likely to not be here next year," he told Martin Kilcoyne of Fox-2 in St. Louis.

"It's easy to talk about what we may or may not do at the moment, but we're not going to just give away players. We want to get some value in return. We want to get some value that helps us in 2024. And that's really going to be our focus as we enter the trading period."

The Cardinals are last in the National League Central at 38-52. They trail the first-place Cincinnati Reds by 11.5 games and are 11 games back of the final wild-card spot.

Mozeliak said any trades wouldn't necessarily represent "waving the white flag" but added the team's focus with the deals would be toward the 2024 season.

FanGraphs gives St. Louis a 6.4 percent chance of making the playoffs, and the outlook is even bleaker at Baseball Prospectus (4.5 percent). Being a seller at the deadline is the sensible call when there's almost no realistic path to the postseason.

Based on both Mozeliak's comments and the Cardinals' payroll situation, fans shouldn't expect a total fire sale, though.

Nolan Arenado is under contract through 2027, and the pair of Miles Mikolas and Willson Contreras are committed to multiyear deals they signed this past offseason. Paul Goldschmidt can hit the open market in 2025, but surely he won't be moved less than a year after being crowned the National League MVP.

Mozeliak stopped short of definitively saying anybody on the roster is untouchable in trades but told Martin the Cardinals "hope we can keep our core together and supplement it properly." That arguably reinforces the odds of Goldschmidt sticking around.

It could be a different story for Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty since both are headed for free agency in the winter. Contending teams are always willing to give up something of value for pitching help, even when it's for a half-season rental. Montgomery and Flaherty are two of the best arms likely to be on the trade market.

Jordan Hicks and Paul DeJong may be equally expendable in Mozeliak's eyes. Hicks is another upcoming free agent, while DeJong has club options for 2024 and 2025.

Tyler O'Neill could be in that group as well depending on the status of his troublesome back. He only has one remaining year of arbitration eligibility.

Regardless of who's going out, it's abundantly clear the Cardinals are open for business.

All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado has a very pragmatic outlook when thinking about the possibility he could be traded by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Arenado said he understands the reality of playing for a last-place team that might look to make changes before the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

"It is a business, right?" he said. "I've been traded once. I think that shocked a lot of people at that time. I guess it doesn't surprise me anywhere what happens in this game. It would still be surprising seeing some things happen. But I understand there are certain things that probably should."

While the Cardinals are almost certain to be sellers at the deadline, Arenado's name hasn't really popped up as a candidate to be moved at this point.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post noted Jordan Montgomery, Jack Flaherty, Jordan Hicks and "perhaps" Tyler O'Neill are more likely to be traded than Arenado.

The likely reason for that is contract status. Arenado, who opted in to the final five years and $144 million on his deal in October, won't be a free agent until after the 2027 season. Montgomery, Flaherty and Hicks are set to become free agents after this season.

O'Neill has one more year of team control before hitting free agency after the 2024 campaign.

If the Cardinals don't think they need to undertake a long-term rebuild, keeping Arenado makes sense.

Goldschmidt, who is 35 and signed through 2024, would seem like a potential trade candidate. But The Athletic's Katie Woo noted it's "not happening" and the "most likely scenario" for the reigning NL MVP will be a two-year extension from the Cardinals at the end of this season.

It's certainly plausible that a team with interest in Arenado could come along with an offer that's too good for the Cardinals to turn down. The eight-time All-Star is not playing at the same level he did in 2022 when he finished third in NL MVP voting, but he's still among the best third baseman in MLB.

Through 86 games this season, Arenado is hitting .283/.332/.518 with 19 homers and 62 RBI. He ranks second among NL third baseman with 2.0 FanGraphs' wins above replacement.

The Cardinals have been one of the biggest disappointments in MLB. They entered the All-Star break last in the NL Central with a 38-52 record and are in danger of having their first losing season since 2007 (78-84).

Owning the third-worst record in the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals could be ready to make bold moves ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Cardinals "will listen" on offers for their young position players if it will bring them back starting pitching with years of control remaining.

Morosi noted the Cardinals and Seattle Mariners have had talks, but Seattle is keeping George Kirby off the market in any trade discussion.

The Mariners have been a disappointment thus far with a 42-43 record. Their lineup has underachieved to this point, ranking 19th in MLB in runs scored (384) and 24th in OPS (.702).

Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Luis Castillo are all under team control through at least 2027. Bryan Woo, their top pitching prospect, has been solid in his first six MLB starts with a 4.08 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 28.2 innings.

The Cardinals are in danger of having their first losing season since 2007. Their 35-51 record is only better than the Washington Nationals (34-52) and Colorado Rockies (33-55) in the NL.

There's no quick-fix answer for St. Louis, though pitching is certainly the biggest problem area for the team. The starting rotation ranks 26th in MLB in ERA (4.96) and 28th in strikeouts per nine innings (7.15).

Jordan Montgomery, who can become a free agent after this season, is the only Cardinals starter with an ERA under 4.50.

If the Cardinals are willing to take offers on their young position players, Jordan Walker seems like an obvious target for teams. He's 21 years old and currently hitting .286/.351/.452 with seven homers in 168 at-bats.

Walker has had serious problems in the outfield this season. He's been worth minus-13 defensive runs saved in just 365.2 innings.

Given Walker's age and status as a top-five prospect coming into this season, it shouldn't be difficult to get him playing at least passable defense in a corner outfield spot.

Nolan Gorman and Lars Nootbar are the other young position players on St. Louis' roster that would have significant value in a trade at this point. Gorman, 23, has already set a career high with 17 homers in 77 games this season. Nootbar, 25, is on pace to set career-highs in batting average (.257) and on-base percentage (.364).

Adam Wainwright is headed to the IL.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol announced that the right-hander would be placed on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.

The decision comes after Wainwright had a difficult performance against the Miami Marlins, surrendering seven runs and seven hits while walking two and striking out two in 3 1/3 innings. St. Louis would go on to lose 15-2.

Wainwright traveled back to St. Louis and is undergoing further evaluation.

The three-time All-Star is currently in his 18th season in the major leagues, all with the Cardinals. He is 3-3 with a 7.45 ERA in 48.1 innings for St. Louis in 2023.

He was the team's ace at numerous points during the 2000's and 2010's, finishing top-three in Cy Young voting four times. He holds an all-time record of 198-120 with a 3.45 ERA.

The 41-year-old was heavily tied to Yadier Molina and also to Albert Pujols as franchise faces during the past two decades, and while those two opted to retire after last season, Wainwright decided to return for another season. He has won 31 games over the last three seasons, including 17 in 2021.

The Cardinals are 35-50 and sit 11.5 games back in the NL Central. They are on pace to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2018 and finish under .500 for the first time since 2007.

St. Louis Cardinals star Nolan Arenado exited Wednesday's game against the Houston Astros with lower back tightness and is considered day-to-day, according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi.

After finishing third in the National League MVP voting in 2022, Arenado is continuing to perform at a high level. Through 75 games, he has 15 home runs and a .272/.321/.476 slash line. His 115 OPS+ is near his career average (123).

The trouble for St. Louis is that the team isn't getting a ton offensively outside of him, NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Gorman. Nobody foresaw the Cardinals sitting last in the division at 33-45 by this point in the season.

There's still time for them to turn things around, but undoing all of the damage from their brutal start will require a lot of work.

That task doesn't become any easier with Arenado out of the lineup.

Jordan Walker might be deputized as the new starting third baseman in the meantime. Arenado's presence has pushed him into the outfield for St. Louis, but he got plenty of experience at the hot corner in the minors.

David Freese will not have his name enshrined in the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.

The 2011 World Series hero was the top vote-getter in the fan vote in May, but declined the honor.

He was selected alongside Max Lanier and José Oquendo in the 2023 Class and beat out the likes of Joaquín Andújar, Steve Carlton, Matt Morris and Edgar Renteria.

Freese's thanked the Cardinals fans for his nomination and the organization for its support during his tenure. He claimed that he wanted to "respect those who came before him" and that was a factor in his decision.

Freese played 11 seasons in MLB and hit .277 with 113 home runs and 535 RBI's. His best years came during his five-year stint with the Cardinals, with a notable highlight including a 2012 all-star selection.

Still, Freese is best-known for his heroics during the team's 2011 World Series title run. He hit .545 with 12 hits during the NLCS that year and hit .348 with eight hits in the World Series, earning the MVP award for both series.

The Cardinals Hall of Fame currently has 53 members, a collection of players, coaches and media members.