John Mozeliak already preparing Cardinals fans for disappointment at trade deadline
After the St. Louis Cardinals dominated the Chicago Cubs in the opener of Saturday's doubleheader, the Redbirds are now 49-45 on the year. They're in sole possession of the second Wild Card spot in the NL as of this writing.
Obviously, things can go horribly wrong, but assuming the Cardinals don't somehow fall out of the postseason race in the next couple of weeks, they'll be buyers at the trade deadline. Or so we thought.
While Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak says that they'll explore how they can improve, he sure made it sound incredibly unlikely that the Cardinals would be making a major move. If that is the case, that's a problem.
Mo on how the #STLCards plan to approach the trade deadline: "We'll try to explore whatever might make us better. ... I think it's going to be a very difficult market for anybody to be aggressive. There's so many teams competing for such few resources out there." pic.twitter.com/bBWKpvkFG2
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) July 13, 2024
Cardinals fans given reason to be discouraged by John Mozeliak's underwhelming comments
Mozeliak is right in saying that this market is unlike one MLB fans are accustomed to seeing. There are so many teams hovering around the .500 mark making it unclear just how many teams are going to be selling outside of a select few.
While yes, a lack of sellers could mean high prices, the Cardinals still have no excuse to not be aggressive. This team desperately needs a No. 2 starter to slot behind Sonny Gray. With enough prospects and MLB-caliber players for Mozeliak to deal from at his disposal, there really is no excuse for him to completely strike out.
What this feels like Mozeliak is doing is using the returns of injured players like Willson Contreras, Lars Nootbaar, and Tommy Edman as additions instead of actually adding external pieces. Of course, getting those players back is a great thing, but how high is this team's ceiling realistically without making other moves?
Upsets happen all the time, but does anyone really believe this team is beating teams like the Phillies, Dodgers, and Braves in October without moves? It's as if Mozeliak believes just getting to the postseason is good enough.
There might be a limited amount of sellers, and the Cardinals might have to trade more prospect capital than they'd like to get a real game-changer, but the Cardinals have the ammo to get someone even without trading away a player like Jordan Walker.
The Cardinals have an older roster, are in a fairly weak National League, and have momentum. The time to buy is now. Hopefully, Mozeliak does so in a serious manner.
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