The St. Louis Cardinals are seemingly entering a rebuild, but it's been a mixed bag so far. They opted to let a plethora of aging pitchers walk in free agency, which was a great decision, but they also let Paul Goldschmidt leave only to watch him tear it up with the New York Yankees this season.
St. Louis was also reportedly looking to trade controllable talent like Nolan Arenado and Sonny Gray. But both players have multiple years left on their massive contracts, so moving them has proved to be quite difficult. Still, that doesn't explain why the team was hesistant to shop expiring players like Erick Fedde and Ryan Helsley: They opted to hold onto this pair, potentially letting them increase their trade value, before likely trading them away at the trade deadline.
But both players have trended in the wrong direction since, and it's looking like one final mistake that John Mozeliak will make before he turns the team over to Chaim Bloom.
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The Cardinals should have traded their talent during the offseason
Fedde was the clear player who should have been traded this offseason. It didn't take a genius to see that the righty wouldn't continue to dominate MLB lineups like he did with the Chicago White Sox. Though he hasn't been horrible this season, he certainly hasn't increased his trade value. Trading him in the offseason would have maximized his value and gotten the Cardinals the most in return.
The same can be said for Helsley. The flamethrower was coming off a season in which he led baseball in saves; he looked as dominant as ever, and there were plenty of teams in baseball desperate to add a closer. Instead, the Cardinals opted to hold onto the righty and he's struggled a bit at times so far in 2025. Walks have been an issue, and he's getting hit a bit more than anybody expected.
Both players are still likely be traded this season, with Helsley still having the value to net a huge haul, but that doesn't mean the Cardinals made the right decision. Trading them in the offseason would have extracted a season's worth of value in return rather than half a season.