Cardinals: 1 trade to make, 1 trade to avoid

Trading for Matt Harvey will not be enough to revamp the starting rotation

Let’s be real. Any No. 4 starter potentially on the trading block is not the arm talent the Cardinals should look to pursue heading into the trade deadline. It is not going to be enough to keep pace with the Brewers or Cubs in the divisional race. Even though the Baltimore Orioles are absolutely going to be sellers at the deadline, St. Louis should avoid dealing for right-hander Matt Harvey.

The former New York Mets ace has bounced around from one bad team to another in the last few years. While he seems to have his health with the 2021 Orioles, he is 3-7 on the year in 11 starts with a terrible 7.41 ERA. The last time his ERA on the year was below 5.00 was in 2018. He has not been the same high-end pitcher since the early-to-mid-2010s when he was with New York.

Though the Cardinals will not have to give up as much for someone like Harvey as they would with Scherzer, there is not enough potential upside here for the Cardinals to make this deal with the Orioles. Could he pitch better in St. Louis uniform in the midst of a postseason push? Absolutely, but Harvey’s arrival is not going to be the total game-changer it would be if they added Scherzer.

Overall, the Cardinals will have to metaphorically swing for the fences on a handful of trades to get back into the postseason race. Their biggest issue lies within the starting rotation. While trading for Scherzer may not be enough to get them back in it, the Cardinals will have to like their chances of being able to potentially re-sign him when he hits free agency this winter. He would be worth it.

The longer the Cardinals’ rotation struggles, the faster they will fall out of the NL Central race.