Cardinals collapse could force these players off the roster at the MLB trade deadline

With just over a week until the MLB trade deadline, regression appears to be coming for the St. Louis Cardinals. Oli Marmol's team was one of the surprises of the first half, surging into NL Wild Card contention after an offseason spent getting rid of as much veteran talent as possible. But they're just 2-6 in the second half after a 4-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night, 8-13 overall in the month of July.

The silver lining here is that no one else seems to want to grab hold of a playoff spot in the National League either, and St. Louis remains very much in the mix — just two back in the loss column of the Arizona Diamondbacks, with teams like the Marlins and Padres falling apart around them.

Still: The Cardinals being aggressive buyers at the trade deadline always felt like a bit of a pipe dream, given just how ahead of schedule they are in year one under Chaim Bloom. Now that they've fallen back to nearly .500, is it really worth sacrificing pieces of a bright future for the sake of maybe snagging the No. 6 seed in the present? St. Louis is showing its front office that it's not ready to make a real run yet, and if Bloom does decide to pull the cord ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline, plenty of players might go.

RHP Dustin May

May delivered six innings of one-run ball on Friday night, a welcome return to form after he'd been roughed up for much of late June and early July. The Cardinals would do well to try and sell high while they can, though, given May's inconsistency and the fact that he's almost certain to become a free agent this winter. This could wind up being an awfully thin starting pitching market if guys like Tarik Skubal and Joe Ryan stay put, and that would make May look like an enticing proposition for any manner of rotation-needy contenders. If St. Louis decides it's not going anywhere this year, May should be the first player off the block.

RHP Andre Pallante

Pallante's inclusion on this list might be a bit of a surprise, given that he's been the steadiest part of the St. Louis rotation all season long and is under team control through 2028. But Pallante numbers (4.02 ERA, 3.97 FIP) certainly don't jump off the page, and his relatively pedestrian stuff and inability to miss bats suggest that the Cardinals should be looking to strike while the iron is hot here. He profiles as a No. 4 or 5 starter, at best, and if Bloom can get a prospect or two who profiles as an every-day player moving forward, that's a worthwhile swap to make for a replaceable pitcher.

RHP Riley O'Brien

This is why you never trust relievers. O'Brien was the darling of the Cardinals' first half, earning an All-Star nod while leading the National League in saves. But he's slowly come unraveled as the summer has gone on, with a 4.41 ERA and 4.91 FIP since June 1 and 13 walks to just 17 strikeouts in 16.1 innings. St. Louis certainly shouldn't be looking to give him away for a bag of balls, but if you can get something of real future value for just about any reliever this side of Mason Miller, you'd be better off doing so — especially if you're still in the early stage of your contention window as the Cardinals are. It's just too volatile a position, especially when you don't miss a ton of bats like O'Brien.

OF Lars Nootbaar

Nootbaar only has one more year of team control remaining, and the Cardinals will likely look to put Joshua Baez and Jordan Walker in the outfield corners on Opening Day 2027 (and, ideally, many more Opening Days to come). Nootbaar has been a solid player in St. Louis, but he's yet to put it all together and become more than that, and he's also had a hard time staying on the field consistently. He's healthy now, and given how few productive big-league outfielders figure to be available at the deadline, the Cardinals could get more for him than he'd be worth to them in his walk year next season.

LHP JoJo Romero

Romero is currently on the IL as he recovers from appendicitis, which complicates this picture a bit. But it's obviously not the sort of issue that should give would-be suitors pause about his viability and availability in September and October, and when healthy the lefty is a real asset in the bullpen given his ability to neutralize left-handed hitters. He's also set to hit free agency this winter, which makes this one a no-brainer as contenders scramble for as much bullpen help as they can get their hands on.

C Leo Bernal

Ordinarily, you wouldn't expect a seller to be giving away prospects at the trade deadline. But Bernal is about as big-league ready a prospect as you'll find, currently slashing .275/.358/.474 at Triple-A. And the Cardinals' surplus of catching depth means that they could look to flip him to a catching-needy team looking to plug him into their rotation.

Ivan Herrera, Jimmy Crooks and Pedro Pages are all in the mix behind the plate for St. Louis, and that's not even including top prospect Rainiel Rodriguez at Double-A. That's simply too many mouths to feed, so why not send Bernal to a team like the Yankees, Rays or Red Sox if they miss out on guys like Hunter Goodman, Shea Langeliers or Ryan Jeffers?

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