ST. LOUIS – Time is ticking on the MLB trade deadline. Less than 48 hours remain for the St. Louis Cardinals to complete any midseason trades for the rest of the 2024 campaign.
What’s in store for the Cardinals on the day before deadline? It’s hard to know for certain, given the increased competition in the National League postseason push and that the Cardinals have sputtered around .500 for most of July. However, various reports provide insight of what could transpire.
Tommy Edman
Perhaps the biggest storyline heading into the day is the future of Tommy Edman. The superutility has missed the entire MLB season to this point due to prolonged injuries, first sidelined from wrist surgery and more recently a sprained ankle. Edman has played eight games with Double-A Springfield on a rehab assignment this month, but only designated hitter to this point. Edman still needs to work on his fielding before a possible MLB return, so that could still be a few weeks away.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals have stayed afloat in or near the playoff picture without the versatile Edman, using Brendan Donovan in more of his superutility role and finding rhythm with Masyn Winn and Nolan Gorman at middle infield, Edman’s two normal positions. In the case of his return, there could be a big-league roster logjam, and that’s perhaps one reason the Cardinals may look to move him.
The Athletic reports that the Dodgers and Yankees have shown strong interest in Edman over the last several days, but it’s unclear how close any deals might be. The Cardinals could perhaps explore Edman as a trade chip to acquire much-needed pitching depth for the rotation and bullpen.
Houston sports reporter Ari Alexander reports according to his sources the Cardinals, Dodgers and White Sox have discussed framework of a three-team deal that would send Edman to the Dodgers, veteran starter Erick Fedde to the Cardinals and various pieces to the White Sox.
These reports aren’t to say Edman will indeed be traded, but after an injury-riddled year and with free agency looming after 2025, St. Louis will likely at least discuss deals that involve the 29-year-old.
Pitching
As previously mentioned to an extent, pitching could be a big emphasis for the Cardinals at the deadline. After surprise contributions through the first three months, the pitching has taken a hit in July. The Cardinals’ 4.82 staff ERA and five blown saves this month (mostly tied to relievers other than All-Star closer Ryan Helsley) are among the league’s Top 10 worst marks.
It’s clear the rotation hasn’t pitched to its bar for much of July either with fill-in fifth starter Andre Pallante surprisingly leading all Cardinals starters in ERA since he moved back into the rotation.
As a result, the bullpen has been utilized more often in games compared to previous months and has occasionally weathered through long nights and blowout losses, such as Saturday’s 14-3 setback against the Washington Nationals. That led the Cardinals to designate longtime reliever Giovanny Gallegos for assignment, a move the marks the end of an era for a once reliable back-end piece but also opens up a roster spot for a potential trade.
Fresh arms, both for the starting rotation and the bullpen, could be a big boost for a Cardinals squad as a whole that hasn’t sustained much momentum in July.
Several previous reports have linked the Cardinals to Fedde, a prime candidate due to his relatively inexpensive contract and the White Sox in an obvious position as sellers with baseball’s worst record, though not really due to his performance (7-4, 3.11 ERA).
The Cardinals may not necessarily be seeking more of an ace-material pitcher than a stop gap option, as done with arms like Jose Quintana and Jon Lester in recent deadlines. For that reason, they may still be linked to Colorado’s Cal Quantrill or Toronto’s Yusei Kikuchi as MLB Insider Jim Bowden previously suggested via 101 ESPN.
As for potential relief additions, the Cardinals haven’t been heavily linked to anyone in particular, but bringing on an experienced right-handed pitcher could make sense after the departure of Gallegos.
Salary
Though things could change over the next day, the Cardinals may not appear for a true blockbuster, or at least a deal that doesn’t involve the team taking on excessive amounts of money owed to players.
According to Cardinals MLB.com reporter John Denton, Cardinals management has informed front office members that the team is “not positioned to take on significant additional salary” beyond this season.
While that information is a bit ambiguous, it appears the Cardinals are likely to seek low-risk deals with expiring free agents as opposed to players with several additional years of control beyond this year.
This approach may allow the Cardinals to hold onto top prospects and young players within their system, most notably Jordan Walker. It could also help the Cardinals stay well below a league luxury tax for future years in a time when the Cardinals are closely monitoring the situation with regional sports network provider Diamond Sports, the parent company of TV partner Bally Sports Midwest that faces bankruptcy proceedings amid a big investment with the Cardinals.
Per Denton, the Cardinals are even hoping to create financial flexibility by DFA’ing Gallegos in hopes another team will attempt to trade for him, which could save the team millions for the rest of this season and create some room for another player.
What else
At times, the Cardinals have struggled to put competitive at-bats together against left-handed pitching this season. The team could explore the market for a right-handed bat, but will likely be challenged to add someone of value due to roster log jams.
MLB.com reporter Mark Fiensand describes outfielder Dylan Carlson as a “change-of-scenery” candidate within the Cardinals. Carlson has seen his starting opportunities drastically reduced over the last few seasons after breaking into the scene as a top prospect in 2020. He could also be a potential trade chip to help the Cardinals land pitching or a right-handed bat, though his recent struggles hitting and fielding may not yield a return of a large load.
There are still some mysteries around last year’s top prospect Jordan Walker as well, who has been stuck in Triple-A since late-April after a tough start to the year. There are no major indications or reports suggesting he will be moved, and the ownership’s resistance for a big move with significant payroll increase likely makes a blockbuster involving him less likely. That said, the Cardinals approach to this deadline could affect when he possibly might return to the big leagues this year and beyond.
With all that considered, the days of heavy social media scrolling on trades and roster moves have arrived. We’ll see where it leads the Cardinals in the end.
The 2024 MLB trade deadline, the last possible moment to complete all midseason MLB trades, is set for 5 p.m. CT on Tuesday, July 30.
The Cardinals (54-51) host the Texas Rangers for a three-game series that runs through trade deadline to close their July schedule. They are currently one game out of the NL Wild Card picture and six games back of the NL Central division lead.
