Cardinals Electric 2026 Season Isn't Saving These 2 From Trade Block

The St. Louis Cardinals are going to be fascinating to follow before the trade deadline.

Jun 2, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dustin May (3) pitches against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

After a bit of a rough patch last week, the St. Louis Cardinals have taken a step back in the right direction over the last few days.

St. Louis concluded its three-game series against the Texas Rangers on Wednesday with a win before a day off on Thursday. The Cardinals kicked off a three-game set against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday and it began an exciting weekend at Busch Stadium. Lars Nootbaar returned to the mix on Friday and has been a spark plug for the club. The Cardinals won the first two games against the Reds. Nootbaar blasted his first homer of the season on Saturday.

We are pleased to inform you that LARS NOOTBAAR IS BACK! pic.twitter.com/Jqz7RBV1uZ

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 6, 2026

Plus, Jimmy Crooks had a game-saving successful ABS challenge in the ninth inning of Saturday's contest.

Jimmy Crooks makes a game-saving ABS challenge. Such a cool addition this year pic.twitter.com/BhHjhnIDXY

— Gateway Grinders (@gatewaygrinders) June 6, 2026

The Cardinals have now won three games and are 34-28 on the season. St. Louis is in second place in the National League Central behind the Milwaukee Brewers. Right now, the Cardinals have the No. 1 National League Wild Card spot, but that hasn't changed the perception of the club yet when it comes to the 2026 MLB trade deadline. In fact, USA Today's Bob Nightengale wrote on Sunday that the Cardinals are "expected" to trade reliever JoJo Romero and starter Dustin May this summer.

" Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals have been two of the biggest surprises in baseball the first half, but please, they’re not about to trade prospects at the deadline to go all-in," Nightengale wrote. "The Cardinals, in fact, are expected to trade reliever JoJo Romero and starter Dustin May at the trade deadline, providing they slip further back in the wild-card race. A year from now, it may be a completely different story."

When it comes to trade talks around the club, these are the two guys who have been talked about the most. Romero is a pending free agent. May has a mutual option for the 2027 season, but mutual options are rarely picked up.

So, the idea of flipping them does make sense in the long-term. Right now, the Cardinals have six starters on the big league club with May, Michael McGreevy, Matthew Liberatore, Kyle Leahy, Andrew Pallente, and Hunter Dobbins. If the club flipped May, they could just slide Dobbins in on a consistent basis. It would be a bit harder to replace Romero right now, but the club has options down in Triple-A, like Luis Gastelum, although he's right-handed.