The St. Louis Cardinals keep doing what nobody expected them to do this season — they’re winning games. That’s creating an interesting situation as the trade deadline approaches, because instead of selling off assets like many predicted, they might actually be buyers.
Sports Illustrated’s Nick Selbe and Will Laws think the Cardinals recent hot streak puts them in position to make a move. Their prediction? St. Louis goes after Arizona Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly.
It’s not a crazy idea when you break it down.
Kelly’s in the final year of his three-year, $24 million deal and will hit free agency after this season. The Diamondbacks sit 3.5 games out of a Wild Card spot, which puts them in that awkward middle ground where they could easily become sellers if things don’t turn around quickly.
For the Cardinals, the rotation need is pretty clear. Sonny Gray has been everything they hoped for — he just threw a nine-inning shutout against San Diego on 89 pitches that was basically poetry in motion. But after Gray, things get dicey.
Erick Fedde, Miles Mikolas, Matthew Liberatore, and Andre Pallante have all underwhelmed this year. None of them are terrible, but they’re more back-end starters than the reliable number-two the Cardinals need for a playoff push.
That’s where Kelly comes in. He’s posted a 3.49 ERA with a 7-4 record this season across 17 starts. His control has been solid too — 100 strikeouts against just 26 walks in 98 innings pitched. Those aren’t ace numbers, but they’re exactly what you want from a dependable second starter.
Kelly’s 2023 postseason performance should give any contending team confidence — he went 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA while striking out 28 batters.
The fit makes sense from both sides. Arizona gets prospects for a player they’ll likely lose anyway, and St. Louis gets the rotation stability they need. A Gray-Kelly combination at the top would give the Cardinals a legitimate one-two punch heading into October.
Now that the Cardinals have shown they’re more than just sellers, don’t be surprised if they start looking at other options too. When a team that was supposed to rebuild starts winning, the calculus changes pretty quickly.
The way I see it, if St. Louis keeps playing like this, they’d be foolish not to explore the market. Kelly might just be the start of what could be an interesting deadline for the Cardinals.
