Cardinals Rumors: Will John Mozeliak sell at the trade deadline?
After losing Game 1 of the London Series against the Chicago Cubs in rather embarrassing fashion, John Mozeliak admitted that change was coming. Now, whether that means selling a few perishable items like players on one-year contracts, or a complete rebuild, remains to be seen.
For now, the common thought around baseball is that St. Louis, barring a complete turnaround between now and late July, will sell some expiring contracts in a month. That can include players like Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty. If the Cards opt against keeping their core players around, Paul Goldschmidt could be the next to go — but for now, that's considered unlikely.
Per MLB Trade Rumors and Cards beat reporter Jeff Jones, Mozeliak's plans are somewhere in the middle:
"I would hope the Cardinals are not allowed to rebuild," Mozeliak told reporters (including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat), in reference to the "pressure" St. Louis fans put on the team to remain perpetual contenders. This is the only scenario that Mozeliak seems to have ruled out in regards to the trade deadline, since "as we sit here on the 23rd of June, we still don't know exactly which path we'll walk. From a front office standpoint, we have to start preparing."
A rebuild, it would seem, is off the table for now. But adding by subtracting as the St. Louis front office sees fit is far more likely.
Cardinals Rumors: What is wrong with Adam Wainwright?
Adam Wainwright had "one of the worst starts" of his career in London against the Cubs. He sounded downright distressed and downtrodden in the locker room afterward, and has since deleted his Twitter account. Should fans be concerned?
"I'm pretty sad about it, honestly," Wainwright said, per the Athletic. "I pitched terrible trying to make Cardinals fans, but we didn't make any today because of me. That whole game was my fault. I pitched terrible, I put our team in a bad spot and we lost the game because of me."
To understand Waino's dilemma, we have to go back to the beginning of the season. Rather than retire with the likes of longtime catcher Yadier Molina or MLB legend Albert Pujols, Wainwright opted to come back for another season. That has not worked out well for him, as the Cardinals are last in the NL Central and he, personally, has not been his steady self in the rotation. As FanSided's Alicia de Artola noted on Saturday, sadly it looks for now like Wainwright made a mistake coming back at all:
"Wainwright tried to hold off the clock but its clearly caught up to him. It's no surprise for a 41-year-old have his game decline. It's just a shame he didn't hang up his cleats before it got to this point. Now Oli Marmol and company need to have a serious conversation about Wainwright's place in the rotation. The current status quo isn't cutting it."
The current status quo is rather awful. After the game, even Oli Marmol acknowledged that Wainwright "did not have it" that day. The curious part about all of this is that in his prior start against the New York Mets, Wainwright looked pretty good, giving up just three runs in over six innings pitched. He "found his curveball," as he mentioned at the time. But on Saturday, nothing worked for him. His cutter and curveball wouldn't break, and the fastball location was off while the average velocity was way down.
This…really isn't the Wainwright we've come to expect the last few years, which begs the obvious question, what can be done to fix him?
These are strange days in St. Louis, and some rare struggles from Wainwright makes us feel like we're in the Upside Down.
Cardinals Rumors: Could Brendan Donovan be traded?
While St. Louis should rightly shop players on expiring contracts, one who has surprisingly been mentioned by pundits is super-utility man Brendan Donovan.
Donovan remains a pre-arbitration player. He is under contract until at least 2026, if not longer given his arbitration years. He's accountable, has hit well for two seasons now, and can play second, third and the outfield. What more do the Cards want out of a player?
While all of that makes Donovan valuable to the Cardinals, it also makes him a powerful trade asset for Mozeliak and Co. If the St. Louis front office views Donovan as a player they can afford to part with, then they can possibly pick up a number of MLB-ready assets who can contribute to the team next season or sooner. The Cards have needs at starting pitcher and the bullpen. Perhaps there's a match. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Lynn Worthy says no player on the Cardinals roster besides Jordan Walker is untouchable, including Donovan:
"I'm not sure that this roster is in a place where you can dub a player like Donovan untouchable in trade scenarios," Worthy said in a question-and-answer session with fans. "His versatility is great and gives the Cardinals or any acquiring team flexibility. But if he were the key to acquiring much-needed pitching, I'm not sure the front office in good conscience could refuse to include him in a deal. After all, you have other options — and potential everyday options — at the positions, he plays."
It can't be understated just how much the Cardinals need pitching. If it means parting ways with a real asset like Donovan, then Mozeliak may be willing to do just that.
