The St. Louis Cardinals are set to begin the second half on Friday, and they have one of the easier schedules the rest of the way. That bodes well for them, as they sit just one game back in the National League wild card race at 50-45.
All signs point to them sticking with their plan at the trade deadline, but that hasn’t stopped speculation over what they might do. They could potentially do some buying as long as it serves the long-term goals Chaim Bloom has talked about.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report predicts that St. Louis will be “tentatively buying” in the next few weeks, and listed a few veteran pitchers that might be of use to them, including a former Cardinal.
“Simply put, the Cardinals don’t have any pitching that scares you,” Miller wrote. “Their best-case scenario for Game 1 of the postseason (should they make it) is Michael McGreevy for six innings, followed by one inning apiece from George Soriano, JoJo Romero and Riley O’Brien. Would be great if they could get a Robbie Ray and/or a Michael Wacha to add some punch and some experience to the pitching staff.
St. Louis Cardinals Named Trade Fit for Pair of Veteran Starters With Deadline Close
Of the two pitchers listed, Wacha makes the most sense. He was drafted by the Cardinals in 2012 as a compensatory pick after Albert Pujols left in free agency. The following year, he was the MVP of the National League Championship Series as the Cardinals clinched their 19th World Series berth in franchise history.
Now with the Kansas City Royals, Wacha has been one of the most dependable starting pitchers over the past several years. The 35-year-old is 5-7 with a 3.77 ERA in 19 starts with Kansas City this season. He is under team control through at least 2027 and has a club option for 2028. It might take a lot of prospects to land him, but he makes the most sense out of the two starters.
St. Louis Cardinals an Unrealistic Fit for Robbie Ray
Ray is unlikely because he is in the final year of his contract, and chasing a rental would go against everything Chaim Bloom has preached in the midst of the Cardinals rebuild. Bloom has often talked about not wanting to take shortcuts and pursue short-term fixes, and that is exactly what trading for Ray would be.
He has put together a good season, going 8-6 with a 3.38 ERA in the first half of 2026, but if the Cardinals are going to add players, they’ll want to make sure that it serves the long-term goals rather than be a short-term solution.
This is ultimately why of the two starters listed, Wacha is the more realistic option. Busch Stadium would be beneficial to both starters though, as it is more pitcher friendly than other ballparks.
There is also always a chance that Bloom chooses to sell instead of buy, which would mean sticking to the plan and not losing focus on the long-term goals of the organization.
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