The St. Louis Cardinals came into the season looking like they were in a rebuild. There are multiple players on the Cardinals' roster who could be on the trade block this season.
But St. Louis has won nine straight coming into Wednesday's doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies. They're the hottest team in the game, and it seems like they could end up being contenders at the end of the season rather than an afterthought.
This resurgence may have changed the Cardinals' trade deadline plans.
Newsweek's Hunter Mulholland recently suggested the Cardinals would be buyers instead of sellers at the trade deadline.
"The Cardinals have vaulted themselves right back into the thick of the NL Central race and have shown no signs of slowing down," Mulholland wrote. "The Cardinals' bullpen was questionable and still ranks 18th entering Tuesday, but the Cardinals' potent offense has overcome a struggling bullpen that has seen a turn recently, implying better days to come.
"If the Cardinals are in the hunt at the trade deadline, expect them to be buyers and not sellers looking for the extra push to get the storied franchise back to the cool nights of October."
In all honesty, the Cardinals will likely be somewhere in the middle of selling and buying. What I mean by this is the Cardinals could sell their expiring contracts like Erick Fedde and Ryan Helsley while buying controllable talent to replace them.
Either way, it's too early to tell what their true trade deadline approach will be. They could lean either way depending on how the next few months go.
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