The St. Louis Cardinals are on everyone's mind as the MLB trade deadline inches closer. With a clear willingness to punt on this season and reset for the future, St. Louis might be the most active team over the next few days.
Few teams need to shed veteran salaries and restock the farm system more desperately than the Cardinals. Moreover, this is John Mozeliak's final season as team president, and we can expect him to go out with a bang. He essentially faces zero potential consequences for his actions. What a freeing feeling that must be.
That said, here are all the relevant Cardinals rumors from Joel Sherman's reporting at the New York Post — starting with, you guessed it, Mr. Mozeliak.
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John Mozeliak still has final say over Cardinals successor Chaim Bloom
St. Louis has already named former Boston Red Sox exec Chaim Bloom as John Mozeliak's successor, starting next season. Mozeliak, the longtime Cardinals head honcho, will retire and ride off into the sunset at season's end. One might expect Bloom to have a bit more say in how things go down over the next few days as a result, but according the NY Post, that is not the case.
Mozeliak is "making the decisions even on which players to obtain," Sherman writes. That is fine, right? Definitely not a problem.
While Bloom definitely has some sway in the front office, the definitive nature of that reporting should, in fact, concern the St. Louis fanbase. Mozeliak is a lame duck in the fullest sense of the phrase. He won't need to deal with the repercussions of his actions. St. Louis appears committed to selling, which is a good sign, but it feels reasonable to hold Bloom's opinion in high esteem when he's about to shepherd this roster into the future. What's the point of swinging a big trade if Bloom just feels the need to reshuffle the deck against next winter?
The idea of a power struggle in the Cardinals front office has been percolating for months. While there is no reporting of Bloom being displeased with the current dynamic, letting Mozeliak have unchecked final say feels like the wrong approach. This should be a full-blown collaboration, perhaps even skewed toward Bloom. Alas, Mozeliak has his reputation for a reason and the Cards will ride with him until the wheels fall off at a scheduled date after the regular season.
Cardinals are expected to trade several relievers, including Ryan Helsley
With Emmanuel Clasé suddenly off the market due to a gambling investigation and other top relievers, such as Minnesota's Jhoan Durán and Griffin Jax, still under contract for years to come, the Cardinals are in a prime position to cash in on top relievers. Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton and Steven Matz are all on expiring contracts and St. Louis is "a near certainty" to trade multiple bullpen arms, per Sherman's reporting.
This Cardinals are operating from a position of strength here. Matz and Maton are both experiencing career-best seasons, with Matz blanking lefties and Maton missing bats all over the place. Helsley has not performed up to his usual standards, but he's still one of the most intimidating closers in MLB and the track record leaves little room for skepticism.
If the Cardinals can turn their aging bullpen into multiple quality prospects, that will qualify as a huge victory for Mozeliak in his final trade deadline. What happens with the rest of the roster, however, may carry more weight in the mind of fans.
There is significant interest in Brendan Donovan but trade is 'unlikely'
The Cardinals are "open to listening on just about anyone," per the NY Post. That includes 28-year-old All-Star Brendan Donovan, who can line up all over the infield or take the occasional rep in left field. This has been a productive all-around campaign for Donovan, who is hitting .288 with a .780 OPS and nine home runs in 382 at-bats.
We know the Los Angeles Dodgers are among the teams to call about Donovan, with several other contenders profiling as strong fits. Donovan's lack of pop will spook some fans around the league, but he gets the bat on the ball and operates with impressive plate discipline. He is also due for a bit more luck down the stretch, as he's in the 97th percentile for expected batting average (.297), meaning he is hitting better than his already-high average suggests.
Any team with a hole in the infield and a need for sustainable production would be smart to check in on Donovan. He's under team control through 2027 at arbitration rates, so his contract is of significant value. The Cardinals can therefore expect to field competitive offers, but trading their best player in the middle of his prime might not be on Mozeliak's pre-retirement bucket list.