Cardinals Reportedly 'Might Lean' Toward Selling Before Trade Deadline

The St. Louis Cardinals could have several franchise-altering decisions to make over the next couple of weeks as the July 31 trade deadline approaches.

Given that St. Louis is only 1 1/2 games out of a National League Wild Card spot but has several impending free agents to consider trading, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak's final deadline at the helm won't be easy to lead.

There's plenty at stake for St. Louis over the next two weeks as the franchise decides whether to buy or sell before the trade deadline. A pair of Major League Baseball insiders believe the Cardinals could be headed for the latter.

"This is our tier for teams threading the needle — both buying and selling — and our first Trade Tiers also listed three tailors, but we’ve since moved the (Boston) Red Sox up to the buy side and moved the (Arizona) Diamondbacks down toward the sellers," The Athletic's Chad Jennings and Tim Britton wrote Thursday morning after including the Cardinals in a trade deadline prediction list, which places them as "tailors", teams that will buy and sell. "We’ve kept the Cardinals in this tier, though it is perhaps against our better judgment. They’re a good week away from holding a wild-card spot, but the fact they approached this as a rebuilding year from the beginning suggests they might lean to the sell side unless absolutely compelled to buy. Could they trade closer Ryan Helsley without necessarily giving up on a late-season charge? Maybe."

St. Louis' best chance of earning a playoff ticket is through the NL Wild Card race but they also remain only 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.

Considering that the Cardinals have six games/two series -- one home and the other in Chicago -- left to play against the hated division-foe Cubs this season, St. Louis might have a chance to reclaim the NL Central throne for the first time since 2022.

However, the Cardinals were in a similar position this time last season, decided not to sell at the trade deadline and missed an NL Wild Card spot by six games and lost the NL Central by 10.

Unlike last summer, St. Louis currently has several impending free agents who could tremendously help the franchise with its rebuilding journey, such as Helsley, Erick Fedde, Steven Matz, Phil Maton and possibly Miles Mikolas.

Even though the Cardinals have played better than critics expected before this season began, sadly, it's challenging to imagine them winning the 2025 World Series. That said, it might be in St. Louis' best interest to replenish their lackluster farm system by selling before the July 31 trade deadline.