ST. LOUIS — After dropping their first game back from the All-Star break, the St. Louis Cardinals went on a six-game winning streak. Some thought the team was finally showing signs of life and that even though it’s getting late in the season, they could turn things around and not have to do a quick rebuild like team president John Mozeliak was discussing two weeks ago.
However, after dropping three out of four to the Cubs this weekend, the Cardinals are back on the losing side of things, and the quick rebuild is back on. That streak was the last blip on a dying patient’s EKG, the final nail in the coffin, and every other tired cliche about the last-ditch effort of a team that isn’t living up to its preseason expectations.
On Monday’s Locked On Cardinals podcast, host JD Hafron declared the Cardinals sellers: "Whether you admit it or not, this is an exciting time for the Cardinals.” He joked, “You don’t want it to be exciting because you’re trading away people.”
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"Real change is about to take place with the Cardinals now," Hafron continued. "Where guys that you’re used to seeing on this team are no longer going to be here.” It started with the Genesis Cabrera trade over the weekend, and it should continue with even more moves being made in the days leading up to the deadline on August 1.
But which teams are a good match with the Cardinals? Rumors were already connecting the Cardinals to the New York Yankees, and Hafron discussed that last week.
But there’s another team Hafron thinks could match up well with the Cardinals; the Los Angeles Dodgers. The reason? The Dodgers have a lot of talent and a surplus of it. They have young, controllable pitchers who are Major League ready or close to it, and the Cardinals would love to get their hands on that kind of talent. And the Dodgers need some help fending off the Diamondbacks and Giants in the NL West while shoring up their starting rotation depth.
They’ve had injuries plague their team, and while it hasn’t decimated them, they could use some pitching help. Guys like Walker Buehler and Dustin May are out—May had Tommy John surgery and will also be out for some of 2024 as well. Clayton Kershaw is currently on the 15-day IL, and even Noah Syndergaard is injured.
Hafron’s first suggestion for pitching help is Jordan Montgomery. Montgomery is 6-8 on the year with a 3.37 ERA in 20 starts. On Sunday, he had a rough time against the Cubs, but overall, he’s been pretty solid this season. Montgomery’s not an ace, but he could help a team by being in the middle to the back end of the rotation.
Another prime candidate is another starter, Jack Flaherty. Flaherty is 7-6 with a 4.39 ERA and also lost to the Cubs over the weekend, but Hafron thinks one or both of those guys could help the Dodgers.
For further explanation of these possible moves, Hafron referenced an article on The Athletic in which Katie Woo, who writes about the Cardinals, and Fabian Ardaya, who writes about the Dodgers, discussed what they think could happen between the two teams. They mentioned Jordan Hicks as another possibility on the trading block.
It’ll be interesting to see if these two teams match up before the trade deadline passes, because both teams have needs and can help each other, but for the Cardinals, this is unexplored territory. They’re not usually looking to unload at the deadline, so we’ll find out what they’re willing to do in the next eight days to secure a better future for the ballclub.
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