Cardinals May Be Playing Their Way Out of Sellers Territory

The Cardinals are a fun team right now.

May 10, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Riley O'Brien (61) delivers during the ninth inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals pulled off a dramatic win on Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates in extra innings. With that win, they pulled to within a half-game of first place in the National League Central.

2026 was supposed to be a year in which they rebuilt and focused on their youth. While the focus remains on their youth, they are surprisingly playing a lot better since they traded some veteran players away.

They have a few players on expiring contracts that could be trade chips, those being pitchers Dustin May and JoJo Romero. They also have a potential trade piece in closer Riley O'Brien. However, the more the Cardinals win, the more it looks like they won't be sellers after all.

What this means for the Cardinals

May 12, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher JoJo Romero (59) throws a pitch against the Athletics during the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

Now, some may assume that this means they will be buyers at the deadline. That could always be the case, but Chaim Bloom wants to stick with the original plan to focus on the future, so aggressive buying is likely off the table.

However, that doesn't mean that they won't do some light buying or potentially even make moves in both directions, simillarly to the 2022 Boston Red Sox, a team Bloom was in charge of. As long as the moves they make serve the long-term goals and don't force the Cardinals to give up a lot of top prospects, then there is a world in which they could be buyers to some degree.

But as they continue to win ballgames, the more it seems as though solely selling could also potentially be off the table. If the Cardinals are contending, that wouldn't make sense.

There still is a lot of time left to determine which direction the Cardinals will go. They could be in a completely different place in the standings by August 3, which could lead to them making some slight adjustments to their approach.

But they have performed better than expected and are playing like a team that is capable of making the postseason in 2026. The young core is playing without much pressure, which could ultimately be leading to a much better performance on the field.

Fringe buying or possibly making moves in both directions seem like logical paths for St. Louis if they continue to play well and stay in the playoff hunt for the rest of the 2026 season. It will be interesting to see if they can fully play their way out of the sellers conversation.