CONFIRMED DEAL: The Cardinals have officially reached a consensus to acquire an experienced starting pitcher from the Texas Rangers at the deadline. However.

MLB rumors: Cardinals plan to buy at trade deadline, but there’s a Paul Goldschmidt caveat

The St. Louis Cardinals are hovering just below .500 at 31-33, which puts them fourth in the National League Central. But, they’re also just 0.5 games out of the NL Wild Card race, which means the Cards could still make the postseason barring a complete collapse in the second half.

With that in mind, the organization is expected to be buyers, not sellers at the trade deadline unless things go downhill ahead of July 30th. Two players who could potentially be moved? Paul Goldschmidt and closer Ryan Helsley.

Via The Athletic:

“The Cardinals plan on buying at the deadline; acquiring another veteran starting pitcher is their main — and only — current target. However, if things go south, don’t be surprised if they deal veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who will be a free agent after this season, and closer Ryan Helsley, who would immediately become the best-available closer on the market and could fetch a huge return. In that scenario, Goldschmidt going to the Astros, Mariners or Yankees could make sense, and Helsley heading to the Orioles or Dodgers would be a game-changer for either club. Helsley is under team control through next season.”

Goldschmidt is undoubtedly having a down year in 2024. He’s hitting just .229 with seven home runs and 25 RBIs in 62 games, striking out more than once per contest (80). That’s certainly not the type of production the Cardinals need from arguably their best hitter.

As for Helsley, he is an electric arm out of the bullpen. The hard-throwing righty has gone 2-2 with a 2.25 ERA, compiling 21 saves in 28 innings while striking out 31. He’s only surrendered six walks, too.

Cardinals need a starting pitcher

St. Louis isn’t excelling in any area this season. When it comes to pitching, their staff has a 4.08 ERA. On top of that, the rotation is sitting at 4.38. Far from good enough if the Cardinals want to contend.

Sonny Gray has been their best arm, posting a 3.21 ERA. Both Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn sit just below a 4.00 ERA as well, while Miles Mikolas has struggled immensely with a 5.32 ERA. Steven Matz should be back soon, but he was very poor before getting injured.

There could be quite a few quality arms available at the trade deadline depending on how the next month unfolds. Some of those names include Justin Verlander, Blake Snell, Yusei Kikuchi, Mike Clevinger, Jesus Luzardo, and Luis Severino.