The 2026 Cardinals Are Spiraling Out of Control

The St. Louis Cardinals are trending in the wrong direction right now and the upcoming 2026 Major League Baseball trade deadline is clearly weighing heavily on the organization.

The Cardinals were one of the feel-good stories around the league across the first half of the season. St. Louis entered the season with low expectations and yet the young roster stepped up to the plate and held a playoff spot heading into the All-Star break.

Since then, it's all been downhill. The Cardinals are 4-9 since the All-Star break and now are 54-54 on the season and are 2 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. That's not all, there are now four teams between the Cardinals and the three clubs who currently hold a National League Wild Card spot.

The Cardinals played well enough throughout the first half of the season to wonder whether the club should add pieces at the deadline. Now, it certainly seems like a sale is coming. So much so that ESPN's Jorge Castillo reported that the Cardinals are willing to listen on any player, outside of JJ Wetherholt and Jordan Walker.

"The Cardinals are willing to listen to offers on anybody on their big league roster not named Jordan Walker or JJ Wetherholt, sources told ESPN," Castillo wrote.

It's not as if the players haven't seen the headlines or feel the building pressure. Earlier in the week, Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn made that point abundantly clear.

The Cardinals Are Having A Tough Time

Jul 27, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Chicago Cubs designated hitter Carson Kelly (15) is forced out at second base as St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn (0) turns a double play in the third inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"We could win every game for the rest of the year, and [Chaim Bloom] would still trade guys," Winn said, as transcribed by Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat.

You're not going to see many comments more pointed than that one from Winn around the deadline.

While it certainly won't be easy if — and when — the trades start for the Cardinals, it's the right call. The Cardinals haven't played well enough on the field in the second half of the season to delay dealing pieces away. The Cardinals are a .500 team that doesn't have the firepower to go out and take down a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves or even the Milwaukee Brewers in the playoffs right now.

The Cardinals turned to Chaim Bloom to come in and turn this franchise around. It was known that it wasn't going to be a quick fix. If the Cardinals were in a place where a quick fix would've changed things, there wouldn't have been a chance to Bloom in the first place. It's unfortunate that the second half of the season hasn't gone well. But trading pieces now is the right move, even if it is unpopular.

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