Cardinals Shift to Seller Mode as Two Pitchers Draw Trade Interest

The St. Louis Cardinals came out of the All-Star break looking like a team that might actually hang around in the NL Central race. That feeling lasted about two weeks.

The Cardinals have won just three games since the break and dropped back below .500. At 53-54, they’re 14 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the division and 2.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot. But four other teams are stacked between them and the Arizona Diamondbacks, so that margin is more theoretical than real.

Now the front office is acting like it. According to Will Sammon, Ken Rosenthal, and Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Cardinals plan to move two veteran pitchers they signed last winter: Dustin May and Ryne Stanek. Multiple team sources briefed on the club’s thinking — granted anonymity to speak freely — told the outlet that the plan all along was to flip both arms at the deadline if the season went sideways.

And it has.

Why May and Stanek make sense as trade chips

May signed a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2027. He’s 0-7 with a 4.59 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Those numbers don’t jump off the page, but he’s a power arm with a track record, and contenders always want more pitching depth in August. The same goes for Stanek, who’s on a one-year deal with a club option for 2027. He’s made 45 relief appearances, going 0-2 with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Not elite, but usable.

Neither guy is going to headline a blockbuster return. But for a Cardinals team that president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom is clearly pointing toward 2027 or 2028 as the next competitive window, every movable contract matters. The team signed both knowing they could be flipped. Now they’re actually doing it.

It’s worth noting that the Cardinals had a surprisingly competitive first half. They hung around. They made it interesting. But Bloom hasn’t deviated from the long-term plan. The front office isn’t pretending this is a playoff team. They’re not adding at the deadline. They’re subtracting.

St. Louis faces the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, trying to avoid a third straight loss. But honestly, the scoreboard in July isn’t the point anymore. The trade deadline is where the real season lives for this club now.