The Cardinals’ trade deadline picture may have gotten a lot clearer, and it came straight from one of the club’s young leaders.
Masyn Winn didn’t exactly leave much room for interpretation in a quote shared by Cardinals beat writer Jeff Jones on X. Asked about the looming deadline, Winn said, "We could win every game for the rest of the year, and [Chaim Bloom] would still trade guys."
That’s a blunt read on where things stand in St. Louis.
Winn, 24, has become one of the voices in the Cardinals clubhouse, even while he’s in the middle of a career-worst season at the plate. The defense at shortstop has still been there, and so has the same lead-by-example presence that’s helped define his role.
The quote also lines up with the bigger question hanging over the team: not whether the Cardinals will move players, but which ones.
The most obvious candidates are the expiring contracts, including Dustin May and Ryne Stanek, along with anyone else the Cardinals believe could bring back a strong return. But the conversation doesn’t necessarily stop there.
St. Louis could also look at players who still have control left, a group that includes Alec Burleson, Ivan Herrera, Lars Nootbaar, Kyle Leahy, and possibly Andre Pallante.
That’s a long list, and it tells you just how many options the Cardinals have heading into the deadline.
Winn’s comment may also say something about the mood inside the clubhouse. It suggests the players may already know the business side is about to take over, whether they like it or not. If that message has already been delivered, it could explain why the team has looked flat coming out of the break.
The Cardinals have dropped back-to-back series to the D-Backs, Angels, and Reds, and they were on track for another series loss against the Cubs. The baseball has looked familiar in some ways, but not as sharp or as compelling. There have been more walks, more strikeouts at the plate, fewer strikeouts on the mound, and a growing sense of apathy around the team.
The frustration is showing up everywhere. Fans want changes in the rotation and bullpen, while writers like Bernie Miklasz have continued to point out the lineup’s struggles over the past month-plus.
At the time of press, the Cardinals were trailing the Cubs 5-0 in the second inning of game two. Michael McGreevy allowed two runs in the first and three more in the second, while the offense went down 1-2-3 against Cubs starter Colin Rea in the opening frame.
Whether the front office has already tipped its hand or the timing is just unfortunate, Winn’s quote makes one thing plain: he expects movement. And with the deadline closing in, the Cardinals may already be preparing to act on it.
In Other News...
The Cardinals Have One Young Bat They Cannot Afford To Move
The Cardinals spot in the standings has pushed them toward a familiar deadline conversation, one that is less about adding help and more about deciding what can be moved without damaging the next version of the roster. At 53-53 and sitting fourth in the NL Central, St. Louis has to weigh short-term flexibility against the value of keeping a few younger pieces who still fit the clubs future timeline.
Ivn Herrera is the kind of bat that makes that balancing act harder. The 26-year-old catcher and designated hitter earned his first All-Star nod this season and has been one of the more important offensive pieces on the roster, which is why the Cardinals would need a significant return before even entertaining the idea of dealing him. For a team trying to thread the needle between selling and staying relevant, that is the sort of decision that can shape more than one deadline. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Suddenly Have Trade Deadline Leverage They Desperately Needed
The trade deadline has a way of turning bad news for one club into opportunity for another, and the Cardinals may have stumbled into exactly that kind of opening. After a rough stretch that has pushed St. Louis toward seller territory, the front office suddenly has a little more leverage than it did a few days ago, because clubs looking for help now have one more reason to call. The Yankees are among the teams with a clear need in the outfield, which puts the Cardinals back in the kind of deadline conversation they have been hoping to avoid but may now be able to use.
St. Louis has players who could draw interest if it decides to move pieces, and the fit with New York is obvious enough to keep the phones ringing. Any conversation would likely revolve around young pitching depth on the Yankees' side, the sort of names that could make sense if the two clubs decide to revisit a familiar kind of exchange. The Cardinals and Yankees have done business before, and while nothing is close to done here, this is the sort of situation that can quickly turn a seller's market into a real chance to reshape a roster. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Just Sent A Troubling Deadline Message Amid This Ugly Slide
The Cardinals have spent much of July looking like a team stuck between directions, and the results have only sharpened the conversation as the trade deadline approaches. A loss in seven of their last nine games has dragged them down to No. 14 in the power rankings, while the offense has gone cold enough to leave little doubt that this is more than a short slump.
Since early July, St. Louis has been near the bottom of the league in nearly every meaningful hitting category, which makes the next move especially tricky. The front office has already started making small roster adjustments, but the bigger question is whether the Cardinals lean into a retool or try to ride out the current group, and the answer could say plenty about how they view the rest of this season. [Read more 🡒]