MLB insider has bad news about John Mozeliak's deadline plans for Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are red hot.

Despite a series loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, they managed to sneak out a key 5-4 win on Sunday night to avoid a three-game sweep. And while they remain a game under the .500 mark, they have now catapulted themselves into the third National League Wild Card spot.

Once thought to be surefire sellers at the trade deadline, the Cardinals have seemingly changed the narrative. But that doesn't mean everybody is convinced they're back just yet.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic does not think this is the case, and in his latest piece where he predicted who would be buyers or sellers and those who are in between, he had the Cardinals as an in-between team and predicted that they would end up as sellers.

MLB insider predicts Cardinals will sell at deadline

There's still a lot of time until the deadline, so it's unclear as to what the Cardinals will do as of now. But what is clear is that Bowden is not a big believer in the team.

The Cardinals may in fact end up being sellers if they can't get above the .500 mark and stay in playoff position. But if they remain hot, the narrative surrounding the team could change drastically. Bowden does note that the Cardinals likely see themselves as buyers at the moment.

What's interesting however is that the Cardinals are ahead of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. St. Louis leapfrogged the Cubs with their win on Sunday night and now sits in second place behind the Milwaukee Brewers. Yet Bowden predicts the Cubs will be buyers at the deadline.

Depending on how things shake out, that could end up being the case, but recent events suggest that the Cardinals are trending upwards, and the Cubs are trending in the opposite direction.

If St. Louis ends up being a seller, we could see them deal away pieces such as Paul Goldschmidt, Ryan Helsley, Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, JoJo Romero, and Andrew Kittredge.

But if they go in the opposite direction, they'll need to add a top-level starter to the mix in order to compete with the best teams in the National League, such as the Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jordan Montgomery could be a possibility if the Arizona Diamondbacks continue to slide.

St. Louis is seven games back of first place in a weak NL Central, but they are very much alive in the Wild Card race. Time will tell where the Cardinals end up by the time the deadline rolls around.