Between now and the Aug. 3 trade deadline, the St. Louis Cardinals are not expected to chase the kind of headline-grabbing move that sends shockwaves through the league. If they do anything, it figures to be measured, not flashy.
That matters because the club’s most obvious need is staring them right in the face: starting pitching. Matthew Liberatore has struggled overall this season, and while the Cardinals have stayed in the mix, they are not being cast as the kind of contender that goes hunting for expensive rentals like Tarik Skubal or Freddy Peralta. That sort of swing does not look like their play.
St. Louis entered Thursday at 48-43, sitting two games out of a National League Wild Card spot.
The standings are crowded enough to keep them in the conversation, but not so open that they should be expected to empty the cupboard. If the Cardinals decide to buy and sell at the same time, or even lean more heavily toward buying, it still would not make sense for Chaim Bloom’s first year as president of baseball operations to include handing over top prospects.
That leaves the Cardinals with a narrower lane: a cheaper starter who can help without costing the organization a major piece. One name that fits is Jordan Montgomery.
Montgomery, 33, is in the Texas Rangers organization, though he has not appeared in a big league game this season. His last major league work came in 2024 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he missed all of 2025 after Tommy John surgery. He has been working back since then.
The timing is part of what makes him interesting. Montgomery began a minor league rehab assignment on June 21 and has made four starts.
In those outings, he has allowed just two earned runs in eight innings. He still has room to build up, too, since he has not thrown more than 40 pitches in any rehab start.
Under the rules for rehab assignments, pitchers can spend a maximum of 30 days in the minors before they must be recalled or optioned, and Montgomery still has time left in that window.
There is also the Cardinals connection. Montgomery spent parts of the 2022 and 2023 seasons in St.
Louis, so the familiarity is already there. On top of that, he is making just $1.25 million this year, which makes him the kind of low-cost addition that could appeal to a team looking for help without a major financial or prospect commitment.
Texas may also be in a position to listen. The Rangers have plenty of pitching, and with Montgomery nearing a return to the majors, a deal would not be out of the question.
A lot of names have been floated as possible Cardinals targets, but most of them do not line up cleanly with what the club needs or what it is likely to spend. Montgomery does.
In Other News...
Rangers May Have Landed The Draft Bat They Couldn't Pass Up
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Comeaus profile is the kind that tends to get a front offices attention because the bat is expected to carry the day, and the Rangers appear to see him fitting best on the left side of the infield. He is still early in his development, but for a team that has shown a willingness to bet on upside from the prep ranks, landing a player with this kind of offensive reputation in the second round is the sort of move that can shape the next wave of talent in Texas. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Fans Are Suddenly Rethinking A First Round Pick
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The turnaround has been real enough to matter, not just in the box score but in how the Rangers can now view him over the rest of the season. Foscue has shown enough pop and on-base ability to make his recent surge feel less like a hot streak and more like a possible late-arriving answer, even if the bigger question is whether this version of him can keep holding up once the league adjusts back. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Cannot Afford To Overthink This Draft Decision
The Rangers have spent the last few drafts reinforcing why they should trust their board. Wyatt Langford arrived as a premium talent even with the outfield already looking crowded, and the organization has also seen recent picks like Josh Jung, Jack Leiter and Evan Carter help shape a club that has stayed competitive at the major league level. That kind of track record matters now, with Texas holding the No. 16 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft and another chance to add a player who can grow into something more than a quick fix.
Texas does not need to get cute and chase a short-term positional answer just because a roster spot looks obvious from the outside. The better path is the one the Rangers have already leaned into: identify the best player available, trust the scouting, and let development do the rest. In a draft like this, the temptation to solve for need can be strong, but the organizations recent success suggests patience and conviction are still the smarter play. [Read more 🡒]