How the St. Louis Cardinals can go from a rebuild to restored in 6 win-now moves

When they traded Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Brendan Donovan and Sonny Gray for prospects in the same offseason, the St. Louis Cardinals were making it clear that they had no intention of competing in 2026 and were ready to rebuild their organization to field a consistent winner in the short-term future. Well, expectations be darned, as even with Wednesday's loss, the Cardinals are 21-15, good for sole possession of second place in the NL Central, the toughest division in the sport thus far.

Is this likely to last? Probably not; the Cardinals' roster lacks experience and talent relative to other teams in the National League, but what if it does? I mean, it's still early, but it isn't that early. The Cardinals have played well for over a month now. If that becomes two or three good months of baseball, it's entirely possible this team will be in a position to try to compete this season. That doesn't mean they'll trade for Tarik Skubal or some other superstar, but these win-now moves could help propel the Cardinals forward.

Promote Joshua Baez

The easiest move to make would be promoting Joshua Baez, FanSided's No. 38 prospect, to the majors. Rainiel Rodriguez is probably the Cardinals' best position player prospect, but Baez is an elite prospect himself, and is knocking on the door of the big leagues.

Baez had a 1.179 OPS in spring training and has carried that momentum into the regular season, slashing .245/.325/.500 with seven home runs and 20 RBI. The hit tool might not be fully refined, but Baez has light tower power with elite stolen base upside, and he's even played center field primarily this season.

Even when Lars Nootbaar returns, the Cardinals could use an outfielder as Victor Scott II cannot seem to get going offensively, and Nathan Church isn't a long-term solution. Baez has a chance to make a serious impact for St. Louis in 2026 and beyond.

Bench or demote Victor Scott II

I get why the Cardinals are so attached to Victor Scott II. He's a high-end defender at a premium position and has as much speed as anybody. He can steal second and third anytime he gets on base and he can change a game defensively. Unfortunately, he can't hit a lick, and that makes him hard to start on a regular basis.

Scott has started 30 of the Cardinals' 30 games and he's slashed .184/.250/.241 overall with one home run and five RBI. He has been one of the worst hitters in the sport, and unfortunately, that's far from out of the ordinary for him. He had a .601 OPS last season and has a .564 OPS in parts of three big league seasons.

The tools he has make him a fine fourth outfield option, but in no way should he be a regular starter for this team, as valuable as his legs and glove can be. Whether it's promoting Baez now or waiting until Nootbaar comes back to bench or demote Scott, this move should be made by the end of the month at the latest. That would make clear that the Cardinals are serious about winning right now.

Trade for Bryan Abreu

Riley O'Brien's emergence as a lockdown closer has been very fun to watch, but who else from this bullpen do you trust? JoJo Romero is fine, and Gordon Graceffo has been a pleasant surprise, but for the most part, it's hard to trust anyone other than O'Brien. There's a reason the Cardinals have the fourth-worst bullpen ERA (4.92) in the sport.

I don't think the Cardinals are in a position to meet the lavish prices teams set for elite relievers at the deadline, but what about a reclamation project like Bryan Abreu? Yes, Abreu has had a miserable season for the Houston Astros, but his track record is as elite as anyone's who will be available, and he's on an expiring contract.

He shouldn't cost too much to pry away from an Astros team that's likely to sell at the deadline, and he offers a ton of upside. If it doesn't work out, it's not like Abreu would be that much worse than a guy like Ryne Stanek, and again, he has so much upside. He could give the Cardinals a premier late-game duo as the setup man for O'Brien. It's worth a swing.

Promote Jimmy Crooks

Pedro Pages is a rock-solid defensive catcher, but he doesn't offer much value at the plate at all. He has a .684 OPS this season and a .648 OPS in his career. What if I told you the Cardinals had a good defensive catcher in Triple-A who could also provide more value at the plate? Jimmy Crooks fits that description.

Crooks is known more for his glove than his bat, but his bat has stolen the show at Triple-A this season. He's slashing .267/.400/.611 with 10 home runs and 22 RBI in 25 games for Springfield. Crooks got a brief 15-game look in the majors last season and didn't hit much at all, but he looks like a different player right now.

The Cardinals have kept three catchers on their roster for the majority of the season, with Ivan Herrera being the DH on most nights, so Crooks can simply replace Yohel Pozo, who has gone just 2-for-17, on the roster. Honestly, whether St. Louis plans on being competitive or not, it's worth giving Crooks, one of their top prospects, a look regardless.

Trade for Alec Bohm

Third base has been a position of weakness for the Cardinals, as Nolan Gorman has a .664 OPS and Ramon Urias has a .595 OPS. Gorman is a fine option for the Cardinals to turn to against righties, but whether it's Urias or Thomas Saggese, the Cardinals lack a viable platoon option to pair with Gorman against southpaws. That's where Alec Bohm could come into play.

I know this season has been a slog for Bohm, who has been one of the worst hitters in baseball by virtually every metric, but that's not the norm for this infielder. Bohm has never developed the kind of power Philadelphia Phillies fans hoped he would, but he's always been a solid hitter for average, and has always had a knack for hitting in the clutch, at least in the regular season. Bohm is a career .274 hitter overall, and has a .844 career OPS against southpaws.

This is another buy-low opportunity that makes sense, as there's a chance the Phillies will be out of contention (or simply fed up with Bohm to the point where they'd trade him regardless), and Bohm is on an expiring contract. It wouldn't cost much of anything to get him, and if it doesn't work out, the Cardinals can let him go after the year.

Trade for Michael Wacha

If the Cardinals are willing to make any sort of big move, it should be for a starting pitcher. The Cardinals' rotation has been mediocre at best this season, and that'll have to change if they want to compete. Michael Wacha would be a fun addition for a couple of reasons.

The obvious one is that he'd be coming home. Wacha spent the first seven years of his 14-year career with St. Louis, so how cool would it be for him to come back? The more important reason is that he feels like the kind of pitcher the Cardinals need. Wacha is nothing but consistent. Look at how he's done the past half-decade.

Wacha won't blow anybody away, but he'll consistently put his team in spots to win and eat innings. Is that not exactly what the Cardinals need? Sure, he might be turning 35 years old in July, but does he look like he's slowing down? Sure, he's making $18 million this season and is guaranteed another $14 million next season, but is that not dirt cheap for a starting pitcher nowadays, especially for a quality one?

Wacha is worth trading for because he can help the Cardinals this season and next, and he can mentor the young pitchers on the rise in the Cardinals' organization. Given his age, I'm not even sure he'd cost that much in terms of prospect capital, too. If the Cardinals decide to make a major move and if the Kansas City Royals decide to sell (neither are guarantees), this would be a perfect match.

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