With the trade deadline only days away, the Cardinals are staring at a clear direction. They’re under .500, so the logical move is to sell and put the emphasis on adding to the talent base for the future, probably not until 2028 at the earliest.
That doesn’t mean St. Louis has to sit quietly.
This is the kind of moment when a club can still be aggressive, even while shifting its focus toward what comes next. For the Cardinals, there are at least two deals that fit that idea almost too neatly.
One of them would send a pitcher to the Dodgers, a club that is expected to keep hunting for help on the mound. Los Angeles does not necessarily need a closer with Edwin Diaz coming back, but O’Brien could still slide into a setup role for the two-time defending World Series champions.
For St. Louis, the appeal would be on the other side of the deal.
Left-hander Jackson Ferris would give the Cardinals a starter who is close to major league ready and could be used at some point down the stretch. The Cardinals have enough pitching options already, but adding another arm to the pipeline would strengthen the organization’s future depth.
The other possibility involves Milwaukee, and yes, that kind of deal would raise eyebrows because the Brewers are in the same division. Still, this is not a front office that has shown much hesitation about trading within the division. And with the Cardinals 14 games back, the reality is they likely are not catching Milwaukee.
That makes May a logical target for St. Louis.
He is on an expiring contract, and the Brewers need a starter. Whether they can land Tarik Skubal remains to be seen, and the Dodgers may have a better shot at that, but May fits the profile of a trade candidate.
The return in that scenario would be Coleman Crow, Milwaukee’s No. 25 prospect. He is a major league ready starting pitcher, exactly the kind of arm St. Louis should be chasing if it wants more choices to replace May and possibly even remove the struggling Matthew Liberatore from the rotation.
Liberatore has gone 0-1 with a 5.30 ERA in four starts and one relief appearance this season with the Brewers. The Cardinals, with the deadline approaching, have a chance to use this moment to address both the present and the future.
In Other News...
Cardinals Clubhouse Quote Just Made A Selloff Feel Inevitable
Masyn Winns comments on the Cardinals deadline outlook offered a blunt reminder of where things stand in St. Louis. Even with the season still playing out, the shortstop made clear he expects the front office to move players before the trade deadline, a sign that the clubs recent struggles have already shifted the conversation from chasing wins to sorting out what comes next.
For a team that has spent much of the summer trying to steady itself, that kind of clubhouse read only adds to the uncertainty. Chaim Bloom now sits at the center of it, with the Cardinals direction still murky and the list of possible trade candidates wide enough to make almost any roster spot feel vulnerable. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Just Made A Move That Signals Bigger Deadline Changes
The Cardinals roster shuffle on the eve of the deadline was less about the two names on the transaction wire than the direction it points. Hunter Dobbins was optioned to Memphis and Peter Strzelecki was added to the major league roster, a move that fits the clubs effort to keep some flexibility while it sorts through what the next few days will bring.
Oliver Marmol said Dobbins can be recalled immediately if trades create an opening, which is the kind of timing detail that matters when a front office expects more than one deal to land. St. Louis has already lined up a path for younger arms to step into the picture, and the current setup suggests the Cardinals are preparing to reshape the bullpen and perhaps more before the deadline dust settles. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals May Have A Rare Long Term Answer At Third Base
The Cardinals have spent much of the winter trying to sort out their long-term infield picture, and the search for a real answer at third base has naturally pushed the conversation beyond stopgaps. With the club expected to keep pursuing trades that bring back prospects, there is also a growing sense that St. Louis could be open to a more established major league fit if the right player lines up with its timeline.
Jackson Holliday is the name that has surfaced in that broader discussion, with the idea being less about where he plays today and more about how he might solve a future problem for St. Louis. He is still young enough to fit the Cardinals planning window, and any serious pursuit would likely hinge on how far the front office is willing to go without touching the very top of its prospect group, which is where the real tension in this kind of deal begins. [Read more 🡒]