Cardinals Were Never Going to Buy, Even if Fans Wanted Them to

This was always the inevitable outcome.

Jul 22, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Riley O'Brien (61) looks on after recording the final out of a 1-0 victory against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. Louis Cardinals were able to salvage a game against the Los Angeles Angels this week, but the damage had already been done. The team had lost four consecutive games heading into Wednesday's matchup with the Halos, and though they snapped the losing streak, the Cardinals have proven what kind of team they truly are.

The rebuilding Cardinals got off to a good start this season, but their pitching staff has been unable to hold up, particularly the bullpen. The offense is also struggling.

Fans have been hoping for the Cardinals to be buyers at the trade deadline and add some bullpen help. However, Brenden Schaeffer of MLB.com explained why that was an unrealistic expectation.

"It's okay to be frustrated, but to not have the ability as a fanbase to contextualize that frustration is where you lose me," Schaeffer said. "Understand that if you can handle a rebuild, part of that can be for a stretch of the season exceeding expectations within that rebuild. It doesn't change who you are. It doesn't mean you're going to start buying. I don't even have a response to those comments because it was never what they were going to do."

#STLCards fans can be frustrated, but expecting the front office to buy bullpen help was never realistic

This team was always built to sell @bschaeffer12 pic.twitter.com/iMNFt07LDS

— STL Sports Central (@STLSprtsCntrl) July 22, 2026

Cardinals were always built to sell

Jul 12, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jojo Romero (59) throws against the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Cardinals have three pitchers on expiring contracts. Ryne Stanek, Dustin May and JoJo Romero are all increasingly likely to be traded. Their best trade chip might be All-Star closer Riley O'Brien, who they can probably get the most for.

But the idea of St. Louis doing any buying was far fetched to begin with. This is a team that is rebuilding, and while they have played better than expected for much of the season, it does not change the identity of this club.

This is the third consecutive year in which the Cardinals have had some stretches where they have played better than expected, and a chunk of the fanbase has been in favor of them buying rather than selling.

That was ultimately an unrealistic expectation, and the truth is that this team is not built to be a postseason contender, but rather, a deadline seller. This team will be subtracting talent rather than adding it, and anything they do add will be brought in with 2027 and beyond in mind instead of trying to push the chips for 2026.

There are very few sellers this year at the deadline, so the Cardinals could potentially take advantage of that and sell harder than usual.