Could Cardinals' Miles Mikolas Pitch His Way Into Being Traded?

Miles Mikolas has been hot recently.

Apr 30, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas (39) walks off the field during a pitching change in the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

During the offseason and early into the regular season, a lot of St. Louis Cardinals fans were calling for the team to cut pitcher Miles Mikolas and it made quite a bit of sense.

The team is paying him upward of $18 million this season, he's taking up a spot in the rotation, and he's likely not going to be an excellent piece of the rotation. After two starts during this season, these critics appeared to be right. Mikolas had thrown eight innings while allowing 13 hits and 10 earned runs across his first two starts.

Since then, he's made five starts and covered 26 innings, while allowing 21 hits and only eight earned runs. The righty has promptly lowered his ERA from over 11.00 to 4.76. While it's not a great ERA, he's trending in the right direction.

And if he continues to trend this way, the Cardinals could find a way to trade him instead of cutting him like the fans had suggested.

Could Mikolas actually garner some attention on the trade market?

The answer is yes, but a lot of things would need to fall into place for it to happen.

Most importantly, Mikolas would need to continue pitching well. He's throwing good right now and the Cardinals need him to continue this if they want a chance at trading him.

Secondly, the Cardinals would likely need to eat a little bit of his contract, likely a few million dollars. But at that point, a team like the Baltimore Orioles could take a chance on swinging a trade for him.

It's not the most likely option in the world, but it would be the best-case scenario for the Cardinals.

More MLB: Cardinals Could Deal Away Two Stars In Massive Trade With AL Contender