How the Cardinals can navigate the trade deadline without slowing their rebuild

The St. Louis Cardinals are 50-45, currently one game behind the Miami Marlins for the final NL Wild Card spot. Is there a better story in MLB right now? Well, maybe the Marlins. But St. Louis came into the season with zero expectations. Chaim Bloom traded away several minted stars, from Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras, to former MVP candidate Nolan Arenado. We all thought the Cardinals were at the beginning of a long, arduous rebuild.

As it turns out, Jordan Walker, JJ Wetherholt and Michael McGreevy had different plans. St. Louis' next generation has hit harder (and sooner) than expected. The Cards are a gutsy team that has taken full advantage both luck and opportunity, even in a hyper-competitive division. Now Bloom is tasked with navigating a trade deadline in which future plans bump up against a fanbase hungry for October baseball. Here's how he can thread the needle.

Cardinals can send OF Lars Nootbaar to the Braves

The Cardinals should still look to sell where applicable. While St. Louis needn't dump every veteran on the roster, flipping Lars Nootbaar for assets accomplishes a couple things. It clears the way for top prospect Joshua Baez, who's up to 28 homers and 14 stolen bases in Triple-A Memphis this season. It also allows St. Louis to backfill the farm system if Bloom decides to add aggressively at other positions of need.

FanSided's Zach Rotman put this proposal together, which helps both teams. The Braves, despite their myriad pitching injuries, are overstuffed with up-and-comers on the mound. The Cardinals are the opposite. Nootbaar, who still has an extra year of club control, has a .778 OPS and 117 wRC+ on the season. He can address an immediate hole in the outfield for a Braves team waiting on the injured Ronald Acuña Jr.

Hurston Waldrep made a splash last season with a 2.88 ERA and 3.88 FIP in 56.0 innings for the Braves. The 24-year-old struggled in his brief return from injury this go-around, but his youth and contract situation are extremely favorable. The Cardinals are still lacking for postseason-caliber pitchers. If not this season, Waldrep could settle in near the top of St. Louis' rotation by 2027. He becomes arguably the most promising arm in the Cardinals' pipeline.

Cardinals can trade for Mets RHP Luke Weaver

If the Cardinals add Waldrep, who should compete with other top prospects like Liam Doyle, Quinn Mathews and Jurrangelo Cijntje for full-time rotation spots in the years to come, it becoems a bit easier to stomach the asking price for a controllable reliever like Luke Weaver.

The 32-year-old hurler has a 2.03 ERA and 0.83 WHIP across 40.0 innings out of the Mets bullpen this season. With an extra year of club control in 2027, Weaver is currently New York's best weapon in high-leverage spots. He can help a Cardinals bullpen that has regressed dramatically since the start of the campaign. Neither Riley O'Brien nor JoJo Romero are really built for close games in the ninth inning in crisp October weather.

Weaver has dealt successfully for both the Yankees and Mets, under that bright New York spotlight. He can take up the closer mantle in St. Louis can hopefully contribute to two postseason runs. If the Cardinals decide to move on next summer, Weaver should still return something in a future trade, so it won't become a complete sunk cost.

Brandon Clarke, who arrived in the Willson Contreras trade, joins 19-year-old utilityman Ryan Mitchell on his way to Queens. Clarke feels expendable at this point, while Mitchell is several years away from contributing on the MLB stage.

Cardinals can trade for Angels LHP Reid Detmers

Reid Detmers' ERA spiked to 4.39 with a couple dud starts before the All-Star break, but he is far and away the most valuable pitcher in the Angels rotation. Moreover, the 27-year-old southpaw comes with two additional years of club control, making him one of the most sought-after pitchers available at the deadline. That is, assuming the Angels are actually willing to trade him.

It will take an ambitious package, but this is the sort of swing Bloom should be into. Detmers is still in the arbitration stage, which means he's dirt cheap relative to his production. Moreover, the Cardinals can lock him in for a year and a half before worries about an extension or his future enter the equation. In short: Detmers is an ace-ish pitcher who fits their timeline, and that's precisely what these Cardinals need.

St. Louis really cannot trust Michael McGreevy, Dustin May and Andre Pallante to guide them to success in October, if the Cardinals even get there. Detmers can take the bump in a postseason game and shut the water off on an opponent. His expected metrics (3.38 xERA) point to significant bad luck behind his recent slide. McGreevy (5.34 xERA) and many of St. Louis' best pitchers, on the other hand, are the beneficiaries of great luck, which could turn sour in the stretch run.

The Angels make out nicely here, netting a couple MLB-ready prospects in 22-year-old catcher Leo Bernal and 24-year-old pitcher Tekoah Roby. Jacob Odle, a 21-year-old right-hander with a monster fastball and curveball combo, profiles more as a reliever, but the Cards are still grooming him as a starter. He could climb the ranks quickly regardless.

Given their wealth of pitching prospects, which Bloom has steadfastly stockpiled in his brief tenure as president of baseball operations, the Cardinals can afford to bite the bullet on a major win-now piece like Detmers, especially since there's a shelf life beyond this season.

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