Cardinals Predicted To Land 'A Lot Of Prospect Capital' In Massive Fire Sale

St. Louis could be busy over the next two weeks

Sep 25, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; St. Louis Cardinals third base Nolan Arenado (28) and relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) celebrate defeating the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals are rebuilding and could use this summer's trade deadline as an opportunity to replenish their lackluster farm system.

After years of neglecting player development and their farm system, the Cardinals declared an organizational reset last fall but given how surprisingly well St. Louis has played this season, the franchise's trajectory isn't clean-cut.

Despite being only 1 1/2 games out of a National League Wild Card spot, one insider believes the Cardinals could be headed for a monumental fire sale before the July 31 trade deadline.

"The bold/iffy one is St. Louis, sitting five games above .500 but limping into the All-Star break with eight losses in 12 games," Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller wrote Thursday after suggesting that the Cardinals are one of the top three most-likely teams to host a fire sale before this summer's trade deadline. "We were expecting a bit of a Cardinals fire sale to take place during the offseason, but they could command a lot of prospect capital later this month with the likes of Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado, Erick Fedde, Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz, Miles Mikolas and Phil Maton among their long list of trade candidates."

Following Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak's announcement that the franchise would undergo an organizational reset last Oct., many expected St. Louis to trade several stars over the offseason, such as Arenado, Gray, Helsley and even Fedde.

Surprisingly, the Cardinals didn't complete any trades last offseason -- primarily due to their inability to find a new landing spot for Arenado, whose full no-trade clause restrictions put Mozeliak in a bind as he tirelessly searched for ways to move the 10-time Gold Glove defender.

If St. Louis can't trade Arenado before July 31, which seems likely due to how mediocre his offensive output has been in 2025, they should have no issues finding feasible suitors for Helsley, Matz and Maton, who have excelled in the Cardinals' bullpen this season.

However, Gray's full no-trade clause, Fedde's regression from his career year in 2024 and Mikolas not being worth the remaining capital owed to him on his $17.67 million salary for this season, will make trading said hurlers from the Cardinals before the deadline challenging.

More MLB: Cardinals' Future Looks Bright With Top Draft Pick's Exciting Comparison