The trade deadline has come and passed. As expected, the Cardinals were sellers, ultimately choosing to punt on 2025 to focus on the future. I think it was the right decision to sell. This team isn’t going anywhere, and it’s time to focus on what’s ahead rather than trying to gear up for a playoff run this coming October.
That being said, however, I’m pretty disappointed with how things turned out this year at the deadline. After seeing what teams were getting last year for their rental pitchers, I expected a little bit more in exchange for guys like Ryan Helsley and Phil Maton.
Instead of landing top prospects, they got guys that were at the lower levels of the minor leagues that aren’t going to help any time soon. Don’t get me wrong, I know that the Cardinals aren’t going to truly contend for a couple of years, which means 2026 is going to be another “runway” year. I was thinking more about the lack of starting pitching depth in the system.
They didn’t really get any guys that can be used as insurance policies in case somebody gets hurt. Quinn Mathews hasn’t shown much promise in Memphis, so it’s hard to argue that he’ll be ready to compete for a rotation spot in spring training next year. We also do know that the pitching won’t come via free agency. That’s one reason I’m hoping Sonny Gray uses his no-trade clause to stay in St. Louis for the final guaranteed year of his contract.
They got some decent young arms, sure, but the only guy in Triple-A this year, right-hander Skyler Hales is a reliever. They could always stretch him out if they wanted to, I guess. But I just wonder who’s going to be in the rotation next year that gives them swing-and-miss.
It’s going to be hard to fill those spots, especially if they aren’t going to get any rotation arms via free agency. That’s my main concern.
But while I was disappointed in the returns for Helsley and Maton, I would like to highlight what the Cardinals got for Matz. No, it wasn’t a pitcher, but it was a promising young bat by the name of Blaze Jordan.
Chaim Bloom’s fingerprints were all over this one. He drafted Jordan in 2020 while he was in charge of baseball operations for the Red Sox. He’s got a lot of power and could potentially factor into the Cardinals plans next year. He’s also a right-handed bat, something St. Louis doesn’t have much of, so I will give credit where credit is due. Also, it appears they finally picked a lane. They know this team isn’t a true contender and that it’s going to take time before the Cardinals are good again.
It does have me looking forward to the offseason, because John Mozeliak will be gone, and I’m eager to see what Bloom does in order to address logjams and deficiencies in the organization. We know the Cardinals have a lot of catching depth. It would make sense to trade from that to get some young, controllable rotation arms. They also have a lot of left-handed bats. I think the Cardinals could get something good for somebody like Nolan Gorman if he finishes the year strong.
Time will tell, but I expected better returns for Maton and Helsley, so I am a bit disappointed. We’ll see what the rest of 2025 brings, but I am at least somewhat excited for the offseason when Bloom officially takes over.
No, he’s not here to build a championship contender in 2026, but he is to start the process of building one a few years down the road.
