The St. Louis Cardinals have flipped the narrative. After starting 14-19 and reviving speculation about trading Nolan Arenado, Ryan Helsley, and even Sonny Gray, St. Louis has won 13 of its last 15 games. They’re just one game behind the first-place Cubs and look more like contenders than sellers.
Naturally, that momentum stirs up talk about buying at the trade deadline. With the rotatio n finding its footing and the bats coming around, Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter projected the Cardinals as potential buyers, especially for a third starter behind Gray and Matthew Liberatore. He pointed out that while Miles Mikolas, Erick Fedde, and Andre Pallante have filled out the rotation, the club could use a more reliable option.
But not everyone’s buying into the hype.
A Word of Caution
Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch issued a stern warning: buying now could undo the foundational reset the Cardinals began last fall.
“The idea that the Cardinals might look to add pieces this summer is pure poppycock,” Worthy wrote. “That would smack of an organization that made a hard decision that many fans found unpopular last fall and then caved less than a year later to the inevitable criticism and pressure.”
It’s not that the Cardinals should become full-on sellers if they’re in contention. But chasing short-term success risks repeating past mistakes—rushing to patch holes rather than building real depth. And Worthy’s point hits harder when you remember how the Cardinals stubbornly clung to competitive windows before, only to fall short.
The Case for Standing Pat
St. Louis still has glaring organizational needs, especially in the pitching pipeline. After years of prioritizing position-player depth, the Cardinals are light on high-upside arms in the farm system. Selling off what’s left for a rental arm this summer could leave the franchise stuck in a familiar middle ground: not quite good enough to contend, not quite bad enough to rebuild.
There’s also the issue of timing. The Cardinals’ core is aging. Nolan Arenado isn’t getting younger. Jordan Walker and Masyn Winn are just starting to show signs. Making a significant buy now, based on a two-week hot streak, might paper over cracks that still need addressing.
A Smarter Deadline Approach
This doesn’t mean doing nothing. If the team continues to play well, there’s room for calculated, smaller moves. Think controllable arms with upside rather than rentals. Targeting bullpen help. Trading expiring contracts for MLB-ready talent. In other words, it means upgrading without sacrificing the long-term plan.
The NL Central is wide open. The Cubs aren’t running away. The Brewers are beatable. The Reds are inconsistent. There’s no need for the Cardinals to overextend to stay in the mix. They can stay competitive without betraying their future.
Don’t Let May Dictate July
The Cardinals’ recent success is promising. The rotation has leveled up. The bullpen has held up. The offense, when healthy, still has punch. But the organization can’t afford to get swept up in the moment.
Worthy points out that “letting the pressure of the standings shift your direction” would undermine everything the front office set out to fix. The Cardinals must remember who they are—and where they’re headed. That means thinking beyond July.
If they let May results drive July decisions, they might again find themselves in the worst place a franchise can be: stuck in the middle with no real path forward.
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