The St. Louis Cardinals are stuck at a crossroads with the trade deadline on the horizon. Will John Mozeliak go all-in on one final postseason push? This team is above .500, after all, in a winnable Wild Card race. Or will they pivot toward the future at long last, leaning into the presumed vision of Mozeliak's successor, Chaim Bloom?
Ideally the Cardinals would be able to find a way to thread the needle between both. The fans deserve a competitive finish to the campaign. The Cards aren't World Series material, but you can never really know in baseball. St. Louis is a great defensive unit and the lineup has just enough veteran pedigree to keep 'em on the radar.
One way to check both boxes, setting up the future while also benefitting the immediate roster, is to add a young pitcher with multiple years of team control left on his contract. That is easier said than done, but ESPN's Jeff Passan posits a fascinating hypothetical target: Tampa Bay Rays righty Taj Bradley.
The 24-year-old hasn't even reached arbitration yet, but he's on the trade block and potentially available to the highest bidder. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the price is going up after a strong outing on Thursday night.
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Taj Bradley's gem raises his stock as Cardinals trade rumors swirl
Bradley went six strong innings against the Boston Red Sox, allowing just two hits and one earned run. He now has a 4.60 ERA and 1.27 WHIP through 19 starts, logging 89 strikeouts in 103.2 innings pitched.
Taj Bradley's day is done. Pretty simple gameplan for him tonight relying heavily on the fastball-cutter combo.
— Evan Closky (@ECloskyWTSP) July 11, 2025
6 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 K pic.twitter.com/5OlGEIanus
Bradley pitches to a strong groundball rate and offers significant upside at 24 years old. The Rays are not necessarily looking to trade him, but it's an option if the price is right, per ESPN.
"The Rays don't have a strong desire to move the 24-year-old Bradley, but with Drew Rasmussen, Ryan Pepiot, Shane Baz and Joe Boyle all pitching well, and ace Shane McClanahan out on a rehabilitation assignment, Tampa Bay is at least entertaining the idea," Passan writes. "Bradley's stuff has exceeded his performance over his three major league seasons, but the controllable-starting-pitching market is practically empty, and St. Louis' farm system is replete with high-end catchers, which would fill a vacuum for the Rays."
St. Louis has plenty of catchers in its pipeline, which we know the Rays need. The Cardinals can effectively improve their immediate postseason odds by replacing Miles Mikolas or Erick Fedde with a more durable, explosive arm, while the Rays axe overflow in the rotation and get a young catcher to build alongside their pitching staff for years to come. It feels like a win-win for all involved.
That said, Bradley's performance in Fenway on Thursday night was a strong reminder that he's still just scratching the surface of his potential. The actual production at the MLB level has been nothing special across three seasons, but you can see the talent. As he learns to command his pitches and better balance his arsenal, Bradley will take off. The Rays may be weary of letting Bradley come into his own in a different city.