Deal completed: Several reports this morning indicate that the Atlanta Braves have formally finalized the signing of St. Louis Cardinals  outstanding world-class Shortstop to a $155.7 million, five-year contract, following extensive deliberation and negotiation.

The Cardinals are finally playing the way we thought they could, and they must invest at the deadline

With yesterday’s 3-2 extra-inning win over the Pirates, the Cardinals passed yet another important test. Following their hot stretch at home, they haven’t taken their foot off the pedal and managed to take care of a sub-par team.

Now, it’s off to Washington to face the Nationals for a four-game series. This series presents another test for the Cardinals, and they’ll once again need to take care of a sub-par team. But I must say, even though I had doubted this team for much of the season, this is very encouraging to see.

As fans, we grew worried about the Cardinals being unable to take advantage of bad teams. But that’s exactly what they’ve done recently, and while it’s hard to look at the Pirates as a team to watch out for, the Cardinals were able to take advantage of them, and they’ve been doing it for the past month.

They still need to beat good teams as well. But after months of me doubting this team, I think it’s safe to say that this is who the Cardinals really are. They’re much better than what we saw last year, and much better than what their 15-24 start would indicate.

Do I think this is a World Series contender? No, but it is at least a good team that should make it to October. They came together on Mother’s Day and haven’t looked back since beginning their surge. This is what we expected heading into 2024.

What do the Cardinals do at the deadline?

Now, it’s up to the Cardinals to sustain that success, and the best way to do that is to add at the trade deadline. Everybody here knows that I was all in on selling at first, but you can’t do that now if you’re the Cardinals. You have to be able to sustain this recent success, and how do you do that? By buying instead of selling.

Unfortunately, there really isn’t a legitimate No. 2 starter available other than Garrett Crochet, and I don’t see the Cardinals going after him. But there are still guys out there who are pitching well, such as former Cardinal Jack Flaherty.

With not many top-level starters available, John Mozeliak’s responsibility is to get this team as close to World Series contention as possible. The clear needs are a rotation arm and a bat at this year’s deadline.

The bat they may acquire will likely be a rental, and it’s possible that this could be the case for their new starter as well, whoever that may be. This isn’t a deadline where the Cardinals are going to go crazy, as much as we would all like that.

But I do like the idea of acquiring Flaherty to bolster the rotation. I think at best, he qualifies as a No. 3 starter, but that’s basically what’s available to the Cardinals at this year’s deadline, and a No. 3 starter is what will get them closest to World Series contention as possible without a true No. 2 guy available, and that’s better than a back-end guy. It’s kind of a seller’s market to be quite honest.

Either way, it’s clear now, that this is a team worth investing in. The Cardinals have to aim as high as they possibly can this year if they want to win. They’re playing well, and they need to keep it up to prove that this is who they truly are.