The major league baseball trade deadline is less than 24 hours away and at this point on Saturday evening, the St. Louis Cardinals have not yet jumped into the action. The inactivity should not be a cause for concern as Chaim Bloom figures to have plenty of suitors for his trade chips, but this is likely just the calm before the storm. At the end of every storm, however, the sun comes out and we get to do it all again.
With that thought in mind, I am kicking off the official new era of St. Louis Cardinals
baseball. Even with the previous three seasons resulting in missed playoffs and offloaded veterans, this season felt different as I was constantly reminded that the team was “trying to lose”, which I still believe is just an incorrect statement in almost all regards. Now with Chaim Bloom having full control over this first trade deadline after an offseason and two drafts, I am marking the August 3 deadline as the stepping stone for the next great Cardinals team.
Despite the expected bumps and bruises to come for an unknown amount of time. I am ready and I am intrigued. (I debated using “excited” but that didn’t feel right in a rebuild)
The 2027 trade deadline is the beginning of the next ear of the St. Louis Cardinals
Quinn Mathews’ Saturday start acted as a soft launch into the future and Monday will be the full clearance for take off. The prospect cycle will likely continue with Hunter Dobbins entering the starting rotation and Brycen Mautz coming on in a bullpen role after the deadline. The pitching subtractions are easy to predict, but I have less confidence in what moves may happen on the position player side. A catcher is probably going to be traded and Lars Nootbaar is being rumored, although I continue to be uncertain about his actual availability to other teams.
I have the same thoughts about Ivan Herrera and Alec Burleson, as Bloom should be taking calls on virtually every player on the roster not named JJ Wetherholt. The affordable team control for above-average offense will likely drive their price to the point where they are not truly on the trade block and the POBO just doing his due diligence. Because I expect the starting lineup to remain mostly the same after Monday, my only prediction (read: hope) is that Leonardo Bernal will be the player most directly impacted by the deadline.
While there has been plenty of clamoring for Joshua Baez to save the big league lineup, the flaws remain as he has struck out 10 times over his last seven games but has hit three homers. For now, his offensive profile may be one that would be overwhelmed in his first taste of the majors to the point where he could be unplayable. We have seen the Cardinals use September as this low-risk opportunity, with Masyn Winn and Jimmy Crooks getting their shots then before becoming a major league regular.
Leo Bernal should be promoted regardless of which Cardinal catcher is traded
Since Baez may have to wait another month, Bernal may have the shot to make an immediate impact and begin his evaluation window. No matter which of the three major league catchers is dealt on Monday, Bernal could still be getting the call into the manager’s office soon after. There would have to again be some role shuffling with the current catching setup, but that may be for everyone’s benefit.
If Pedro Pages was to be reunited with John Mozeliak in Anaheim, the Cardinals could promote Bernal to the bigs and shift Ivan Herrera to a full-time DH role to close out the year. While Herrera’s bat does underperform as DH when compared to as a catcher, getting rid of part of his everyday game planning could ease the stress on the 25-year-old. He was finally given an off day, but is still seeing more than 30% of his time behind the plate and his offense continues to sputter. In this situation, Crooks and Bernal would split time, which they already did in Memphis before Crooks’ promotion. The switch-hitting Bernal could easily work into a 50/50 timeshare with the lefty Crooks to end the season.
Sticking with Crooks, he has been named as the most likely catcher to be traded, although I am not overly convinced that is the case. He would draw a better return that Pages, which could be enticing for Bloom, but that would mean keeping Pages for longer even as his usefulness to the organization winds down. Pages could pair with Bernal to ease him into the bigs while also serving as a teacher for the rookie. To keep Bernal from being overwhelmed, this would probably mean more playing time for Pages, which seems like a step backwards after demoting him to the third catcher role.
Finally, the least likely to be dealt in Ivan Herrera. In this situation, the Cardinals could continue to carry three catchers or still dangle another in a different deal. Removing Herrera from the catching set up should be happening eventually as his arm strength has still not returned after offseason surgery. I have argued that he should have received a long leash behind the plate this season to prove himself and 110 games into the season, that leash is about to run out. Rather than deal him while he has no defensive value and has underperformed wit the bat, the Cardinals could begin working him out at a new position in the offseason. This would give the Cardinals another chance to see if he can provide value on both sides of the ball before either committing long-term money or cashing in on his prime years on the trade market.
In any of these three trade scenarios, in none of them did I have Bernal being promoted directly into the everyday starter. I do think he could eventually work his way there, especially as all of the guys he caught on a daily basis in Memphis could be in St. Louis with him. That could make his first taste of the majors go smoother as he would be able to spend less time having to learn new pitchers to catch. The switch-hitter has also spent time at first base, but Blaze Jordan can spell Alec Burleson once a week as another player who should get as many at-bats as possible.
