Cardinals Forced To Keep 2 Trade Chips Despite Ongoing Rumors

The St. Louis Cardinals could be one of the more intriguing teams to follow at the trade deadline. Their front office could decide to blow up the roster, sell, and rebuild. The front office could decide to go all-in to add talent and chase a World Series this season. But the reality likely lies somewhere in the middle of those two extremes.

Two names that have been mentioned on the trade market are Cardinals pitchers Miles Mikolas and Sonny Gray. Starting pitchers typically generate a solid amount of interest on the trade block, so it would make sense for these two players to be mixed in the trade rumors swirling around baseball.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale recently dropped the bombshell report that indicated Mikolas and Gray would both be unwilling to waive their respective no-trade clauses if the Cardinals tried to deal them away from St. Louis.

"Cardinals starters Sonny Gray and Miles Mikolas still say they have no interest in leaving St. Louis, and would exercise their no-trade clauses to veto any potential deals," Nightengale wrote.

If neither of these players will be willing to waive their no-trade clause, then this idea is no longer a talking point.

Gray has seemingly found a role as the team's ace, plus he has multiple years of team control left on his contract. He was unlikely to be moved in the first place, but his no-trade clause makes it as closer to a 0 percent chance as you can get.

Mikolas is an interesting case. While he won't be a trade candidate because of his poor play and no-trade clause, he could end up as a cut candidate. The Cardinals can't continue to use him as a big-league pitcher if they're going to try to contend. They also shouldn't use him if they're going to rebuild.