Sell or stand pat? Cardinals facing difficult choices

At 27-23 and three games behind first-place Chicago in the National League Central entering play Friday, the St. Louis Cardinals are right where many have expected them to be: average. 

Of course, that has been the Cardinals for much of manager Oliver Marmol's three-plus-year stint. In professional sports, it's the worst place to be.

Nothing happens for a club that hovers around .500. It doesn't win trophies or hang banners, but it also doesn't receive quality draft position to rebuild. It simply exists, stuck somewhere in the middle of "who cares" and "they're so close to breaking through."

Perhaps this Cardinals team, with its rebuilt defense and rising young talent, is closer to breaking through. The club stood pat in the offseason after an 83-79 season that left them out of the playoffs. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt walked in free agency and the club attempted to trade third baseman Nolan Arenado. But that hasn't happened.

Meanwhile, Willson Contreras has settled in at first base, Victor Scott has been solid in center field and utilityman Brendan Donovan is one of the more consistent hitters in the game. Perhaps playoff baseball will return to St. Louis.

But prior to that, there are decisions to make. Namely, what does the club do before the trade deadline July 31? It was expected the Cardinals would be active, but recent success may alter those plans. 

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, "If the Cardinals spend the next two months playing like they have the first seven weeks, the prospect of them shipping off their best arms diminishes greatly."

Either way, it's a gamble. This team could win a World Series — history showed in 2006 and 2011 it's possible for the Cardinals to sneak in and win it all. If the club sells at the deadline, that possibility could be gone. But if it keeps everyone? Well, there's a chance this season ends up just like last year — right around .500 with no postseason invite.

Potentially complicating matters further is the looming front-office change from current president of baseball operations John Mozeliak to his successor, Chaim Bloom. Mozeliak surely would love to go out with a playoff appearance or more. Do the Cardinals go all in for that possibility or keep an eye toward the future?

Time will tell over the course of the next two months who St. Louis is going to be. Forty of the club's next 59 games before the July 31 trade deadline are against opponents with a worse record. Seven are against the division-leading Chicago Cubs. 

There's room to break through and hopefully paint a clearer picture of the club's course in the immediate future. But the team clearly is entering tricky territory.