Cardinals president Mozeliak: 'We're going to trade people'

Sitting at the bottom of the National League Central amidst a disastrous 38-52 start to their season, team president John Mozeliak says the St. Louis Cardinals are likely to be sellers at the August 1 trade deadline.

The Cardinals have qualified for the post-season each of the last four years, and entered the 2023 campaign with similar aspirations considering they retained most of last season's roster - including NL Most Valuable Player Paul Goldschmidt and third baseman Nolan Arenado, who finished third in MVP voting.

"Right now,  when you're looking at overall performance, it's just not there ... there's no excuses, we're just not playing like we hoped we would, now it's just ... how do we look at the next three or four weeks, and what changes can be made," said Mozeliak. 

St. Louis opened the season in a dreadful slump, which Mozeliak attributed to injuries and a lack of cohesion due to the World Baseball Classic interrupting Spring Training (13 players from the Cardinals' 40-man roster participated in the tournament, including Arenado and Goldschmidt).

A five-game losing streak at the beginning of May dropped the team to 10-24; while they've played .500 ball in the 56 games since, they've been unable to climb out of that hole and make progress in the standings.

"We're not just going to give away players, we want to get some value in return, we want to get some value that will help us in 2024 [and beyond]," said Mozeliak. 

As The New York Post's Jon Heyman indicated, Canadian outfielder Tyler O'Neill is a likely candidate to be moved. The two-time Gold Glove-winning left fielder has been out since May 4 with back issues, but is in the middle of a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis.

O'Neill was in and out of the lineup earlier this season after manager Oli Marmol questioned his effort level in an early game. O'Neill is hitting .228 with two home runs in 99 at bats this season, but he finished eighth in MVP voting in 2021 after hitting .286 with 34 home runs.

Two pending free agent pitchers, Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery, are also likely candidates to be moved. Flaherty has won three straight starts and has a 4.27 earned runs average this season. Montgomery was acquired from the New York Yankees last season, and has a 6-7 record with a 3.27 ERA this year. 

Other names being thrown around the rumour mill include hard-throwing reliever Jordan Hicks, utility infielder Tommy Edman and shortstop Paul Dejong.

"Right now, I can tell you that we're going to trade people, I just don't know if it's going to be household names or just guys that aren't likely to be here next year," Mozeliak said. 

While the Los Angeles Angels and superstar Shohei Ohtani are the most compelling story ahead of the trade deadline, the Cardinals could be major players as they look ahead to next season.