Cardinals Losing Ways Will Have Major Trade Deadline Impact

The St. Louis Cardinals have been through quite a roller coaster ride over the last year or so. They tried to buy and contend during the back half of last season, but ultimately came up short.

As the offseason began, it became clear St. Louis was going to rebuild as it didn't sign any big name free agents and opted to let multiple veterans go in free agency. But the Cardinals began the season quite hot and it started to look like they would be deadline buyers this season.

After the hot start, the Cardinals have cooled off quite a bit. They've lost two consecutive series' and have dropped to just two games over .500. As of today, manager Oliver Marmol's team is seven games out of the National League Central lead.

With the Cardinals struggling and returning to the losing ways, they could become major sellers at the trade deadline. With that idea in mind, the entire outlook of the season could change depending on who the Cardinals ultimately shop.

Pitchers like Miles Mikolas, Ryan Helsley, and Erick Fedde will almost certainly end up on the trade block. Relievers like Kyle Leahy and Phil Maton could be traded, too.

But the trade deadline could get really interesting if the Cardinals decide to look into trading position players like Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan. Donovan is one of the better infielders in the National League and would certainly return a haul for the Cardinals.

Either way, the Cardinals are a team to follow. If they fall out of the postseason race this year, it wouldn't be surprising to see them opt to trade a lot of big names this season, potentially shaking up the entire league.