ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The St. Louis Cardinals will have Busch Stadium at full capacity Monday for their 7:15 p.m. game against the Miami Marlins.
Will they have their full roster, or will there be changes?
After getting swept by the Chicago Cubs over the weekend in Chicago, the Cardinals have fallen a game under .500 (32-33) and six games out of first place in NL Central.
"Maybe we can shake things up a little bit," president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Sunday on KMOX. "We're trying to look at all different types of alternatives if possible, but clearly what we're seeing right now, it's hard to win games."
The Cardinals have lost 11 of their last 13 games. Over that time, they had up to 11 players injured simultaneously. But they also suffered from inconsistency within their lineup (3.3 runs per game over those 13) and a consistently generous pitching staff, issuing walks at inopportune times. Even their buttoned-up defense showed some holes, unable to make some plays that led to runs by the Cubs.
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Is a shakeup coming?
Let's start with pitching, the most pressing need. It's been that way for a while, with Jack Flaherty (oblique), Miles Mikolas (flexor tendon) and Kwang-Hyun Kim (back) out with injures, although Kim is expected to return this week after a successful side session on Sunday. Dakota Hudson (Tommy John surgery) has begun a throwing program, but there is no guarantee he'll be able to contribute in 2021.
Can a trade for pitching be pulled off six weeks before the July 30 deadline?
"Even if, for example, we want to do something, that doesn't mean we can," Mozeliak told me on KMOX's Sports on a Sunday Morning. "Right now, I would imagine if you're trying to chase starting pitching, you're going to find the price really high. We just have to decide... what's our stomach for those price points?"
Mozeliak isn't necessarily talking about money. He's referring to the currency of player talent, with teams eyeing the Cardinals' top prospects, per usual. It doesn't appear the organization would be willing to part with, say, Matthew Liberatore or Nolan Gorman, the top pitcher and position players in their system, respectively.
"Our minor league system is fairly unique in the sense that we have some really top level or elite talent, and then we might have a little bit more of a gap between that next level," Mozeliak explained. "And so we just want to be very careful."
Bottom line, the Cardinals are shopping. They aren't panicking, but they are searching outside the organization for pitching help, and maybe more. Are they willing to give up one of their regulars? Sign a free agent or pick off the waiver wire? Those might be the options they favor.
"We certainly want to win this year," Mozeliak said, "but I don't think we're going to do it at the expense of our future when you're trying to think about how to solve this problem."
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