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Could the St. Louis Cardinals Really Trade Three Major Contributors at Deadline?

According to Jim Bowden of The Athletic, the Cardinals could trade Miles Mikolas, Ryan Helsley or Erick Fedde, despite a surprisingly good start to the season.
Brady Farkas|
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Erick Fedde (12) reacts after giving up a two run home run to Detroit Tigers designated hitter Riley Greene (not pictured) during the third inning at Busch Stadium on May 20.
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Erick Fedde (12) reacts after giving up a two run home run to Detroit Tigers designated hitter Riley Greene (not pictured) during the third inning at Busch Stadium on May 20. | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

Despite entering play on Thursday at 36-32 and being one of baseball's best surprises, the St. Louis Cardinals could still sell at the trade deadline, at least partly.

Per former MLB executive Jim Bowden of The Athletic on Thursday, the team could perform a hybrid strategy, where they both buy and sell.

From Bowden:

...Being open to adding doesn’t mean if they get the right offer for closer Ryan Helsley or a starting pitcher like Erick Fedde or Miles Mikolas, they won’t jump on it — they will. All three will be free agents after this season.

Helsley, 30, is certainly the biggest name on the board, as he led the majors in saves with 49 last season. This year, he hasn't been quite as good, going 3-0 with a 3.75 ERA in 24 games. He's got 13 saves, striking out 28 in 24 innings.

Mikolas, 36, has also put up decent numbers this season, going 4-3 with a 4.48 ERA. He's struck out just 38 batters in 66.1 innings, so he may need to go to a team with a strong defense that can account for his pitch-to-contract style.

Fedde was traded to St. Louis from the Chicago White Sox last season and has gone 3-5 with a 3.54 ERA. He also pitches to contact, having struck out just 46 in 73.2 innings.

The Cardinals are back in action on Thursday night against the division-rival Milwaukee Brewers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. ET as Sonny Gray (STL) pitches against Jacob Misiorowski (MIL).

Gray is 7-1 with a 3.35 ERA.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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