Cardinals may be ones to watch at the trade deadline

2026 was expected to be a rebuilding year for the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals had been sellers during the offseason, trading pitcher Sonny Gray, third baseman Nolan Arenado, infielder Brandon Donovan and first baseman Willson Contreras. Due to those moves, and the Cardinals' 78-84 record in 2025, they were almost universally expected to finish in the NL Central basement.

Someone forgot to tell the Cardinals that their season was over before it began. They entered Sunday with a 20-13 record, tied for second in the division and one game behind the Cubs for first. First baseman Alec Burlseon, catcher Ivan Herrera and outfielder Jordan Walker have led an unexpectedly dangerous lineup whose 165 runs scored ranked ninth in the majors before Sunday's slate of action.

St. Louis Cardinals could have interesting decision to make as trade deadline approaches

The Cardinals had some potentially interesting pieces at the trade deadline. JoJo Romero has been a solid lefty reliever, something that is always in high demand by contending teams. Pitchers Ryne Stanek and Dustin May were reclamation projects who could attract interest at the deadline if they could rebound. Utility man Ramon Urias could be a valuable option on the bench. While the Cardinals would not have any probable blockbuster trades, they could potentially receive a decent return for those players.

Instead, the Cardinals may be looking at supplementing a young core. The Cardinals could potentially stand to improve their depth and shore up the back of their rotation. The question may be how much the Cardinals are willing to trade from a restocked farm system and emerging core. If the Cardinals continue to exceed expectations, they could be one of the more fascinating teams at the trade deadline.