Insider Proposes Trade To Fix Cardinals' Rotation Woes

If the St. Louis Cardinals continue to play the way they did throughout the month of June, they can do some damage this summer.

St. Louis currently has a 47-40 record and is still right in the mix for either a National League Wild Card spot or maybe even first place in the National League Central. Both are realistic for this Cardinals roster, especially if they can plug a hole or two ahead of the July 31st trade deadline.

At this point, the club's likely biggest need is in the starting rotation. Whether that means promoting Michael McGreevy on a consistent basis, or making a move to acquire someone else, it wouldn't hurt to give this rotation an upgrade.

ESPN's David Schoenfield shared a column in which he highlighted one trade candidate for each team. For St. Louis, Schoenfield suggested that Arizona Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly would be a good fit.

"St. Louis Cardinals: Trade for Merrill Kelly," Schoenfield said. "Kelly is the type of pitcher that used to be called a bulldog. He battles, he's tough, and he gets the most out of an arsenal that features a pedestrian 92 mph fastball. Every team would love to have him in its rotation and, for what it's worth, he was excellent in the 2023 postseason for Arizona when he posted a 2.25 ERA across four starts. He had a nine-run blowup in his second outing of 2025 but is pitching better than ever since then with a 2.83 ERA and more strikeouts than innings pitched.

"The Cardinals continue to exceed expectations, and Kelly's $7 million contract would be especially attractive to them -- or any team looking for a starter at an affordable rate, for that matter. As for the need: The Cardinals rank in the middle of the pack in the majors in rotation ERA, but Erick Fedde, Andre Pallante and Miles Mikolas are averaging fewer than 6.5 strikeouts per nine. (St. Louis is 26th in rotation strikeout rate.) Kelly would give them a better strikeout pitcher to go alongside Sonny Gray to head a potential playoff rotation."

Kelly has been lights-out so far this season. He's made 17 starts so far this season for Arizona and has a 3.49 ERA to show for it across 98 innings pitched. He also has a 100-to-26 strikeout-to-walk ratio over that span.

If the Cardinals could get that type of production into the rotation, there's no reason why they couldn't earn a playoff spot with the rest of the talent already on the roster.