The St. Louis Cardinals were a team to watch going into Thursday’s 5pm trade deadline as they seemingly teetered on the edge of rebuild and retool. It was always expected that the bullpen would have the most movement, but late news that the team was fielding calls on controllable players made bigger deals a possibility.

Trades involving closer Ryan Helsley and relievers Phil Maton and Steven Matz did end up happening but the Cardinals stopped short of dealing any of their cost-controlled players as they wade through an awkward period, both on the field and in the offices. John Mozeliak is stepping away from his role as President of Baseball Operations after this season and will be handing off responsibilities to Chaim Bloom, who came to St. Louis after the 2023 season. Trades are always a team effort, meaning it’s never just Mozeliak picking up the phone and feeling things out, and for where the team is at right now, it is understandable why they held onto players like Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, and Alec Burleson, but they do appear to be in a strange spot with third baseman Nolan Arenado.

Cardinals trade rental relievers for minor leaguers

The Cardinals entered into the trade market Wednesday before their game against the Marlins and said goodbye to the longest-tenured member of the team by dealing Helsley to the New York Mets. In return, St. Louis acquired three players that are all at the A-ball level that have different levels of intrigue. Jesus Baez was the forefront of the deal and the shortstop/third baseman slotted in as the Cardinals’ #6 prospect via MLB Pipeline. Along with Baez comes pitchers Nate Dohm (#15) and Frank Elissalt (unranked). Both arms have shown strikeout potential with Dohm looking as the player more likely to stick as a starter moving forward. It is unfair to Helsley and the Cardinals to use packages that other closers brought back for their former teams due to differing profiles or contracts so I feel this deal is just fine for Helsley’s rental status who is open to returning to St. Louis this offseason.

Next to pack his bags and move along was veteran swingman Steven Matz, who was playing the last year of his four-year, $44 million contract. Matz is shipping up to Boston in exchange for minor league corner infielder Blaze Jordan. The lefty pitcher’s tenure in St. Louis was a letdown as he battled injuries during the first three seasons but he recovered this year to become a valuable piece out of the bullpen. Getting Jordan back is a solid return for a rental as the young infielder is currently performing well in Triple-A. While he will likely split time between first and third base, he profiles more as a defensively-limited power hitter that could be on the big league roster next season, if not this year. Jordan slotted in as the Cardinals 19th ranked prospect after the trade.

The final deal of John Mozeliak’s time with the Cardinals organization came just minutes before the deadline in typical Mo fashion. Reliever Phil Maton, seen as the likeliest player to be traded, was sent to the Texas Rangers for a pair of minor league arms. Maton signed for a measly $2 million as Spring Training got underway and the lone signing for the Cardinals had the best season of his career. The Rangers are hanging onto a Wild Card spot and needed to bolster their relief corps and parted ways with lefty Mason Molina and righty Skylar Hales. Molina, current in A+, comes to the Cardinals as their 26th-best prospect and Hales is currently unrated despite being in Triple-A. I believe it is very possible that Hales will get a cup of coffee with the big league team as they try to fill bullpen roles for the rest of the season.

Cardinals hold onto cost-controlled players, Arenado’s future in question

Despite late rumblings that Mozeliak and the Cardinals were fielding calls on their players under contract beyond this season, I noted I would be pretty surprised to see any of them sent out of St. Louis at this deadline. With Mozeliak heading out the door and Chaim Bloom waiting in the wings, I felt it was unnecessary to rush into a deal for the sake of making a trade and now Bloom will have the rest of this year to evaluate the current players before possibly addressing trade (or extension) talks in the offseason.

Mozeliak admitted to receiving plenty of calls on their lefty bats but stated that they were not “blown away” by the offers so the organization felt it made sense to hold onto their hitters. The price for Donovan and Burleson was thought to be sky-high while the Cardinals likely did not want to sell low on injured players Lars Nootbaar and Nolan Gorman. Thursday’s deadline does not completely close the door on any deals involving these guys but that will have to be tabled until the offseason when Bloom truly takes over and gets to make those decisions.

The biggest post-deadline story lies with third baseman Nolan Arenado, who again appeared unwilling to waive his no-trade clause but may be regretting that decision. His career-worst season does not help matters because the interest in the third baseman was likely minimal, thanks as well to having two years remaining on his contract. Speaking with John Denton, Arenado noted the disappointment in seeing Helsley traded and he felt that he has some thinking to do about his future. What that means for this season remains to be seen, but we might expect more off days for the veteran as the Cardinals truly begin their runway plan.

Overall, though not as action-packed as some fans may have wanted, I felt it was a successful deadline despite none the talent received not cracking a top-100 prospect list. The team still has plenty of holes to fill in the rotation, behind the plate, and in the lineup but those questions can be answered in the offseason. I believe the Cardinals may need to deal from an area of depth, namely lefty bats and catchers, to try and grab some cost-controlled pitching or revamp the upper levels of the minor leagues. Regardless of how we felt about the deadline, Mozeliak had a successful Cardinals career and the Bloom era has officially begun.