ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The Cardinals might be 44-46 and eight games out of first place, but they sure sound like a team that thinks they're still in it.
Inconsistent offensively? Yes. The daily lineup looks strong on paper, but should be delivering better results.
Short on starting pitching? Uh, yeah. There are only two regular starters currently on the active roster, Adam Wainwright and Kwang Hyun Kim. Jack Flaherty (oblique) and Miles Mikolas (flexor tendon) are on the mend, slowly.
But John Mozeliak, the president of baseball operations, is still keeping an eye on internal and external solutions. There is a belief that the Cardinals can turn things around with some help, health and a little luck.
"We have some optimism both with Miles (Mikolas) and (Jack) Flaherty in the early part of August," Mozeliak said on KMOX Sunday. "Until then you're still going to have to play games and still navigate the schedule. Ideally, if we could land someone that could help us in the rotation, I think that would be critical. But there are a lot of teams looking for starting pitching right now, so it's much easier said than done."
This year's trade deadline is July 30. And not one starting pitcher has been dealt to this point. It's a seller's market, for sure. The Cardinals seem resistant to trading any of their top prospects for short-term solutions.
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"I think teams are going to be patient and try to maximize what those returns look like," Mozeliak said. "Over time, we'll see what plays out."
Mozeliak and the front office spent the first portion of this week focusing on the MLB Draft. After that, it appears the club is ready to weigh all options to improve a roster that needs a fix, now.
"We will then pivot to the trade deadline," Mozeliak said. "Right back at it."
The Cardinals went into the All-Star Break with a 6-0 win over the Cubs, splitting the series before a Sunday rainout. Prior to that, they won a series in San Francisco and will host the Giants on Friday night to open a three-game series.
"Hopefully we can get off to a good first step and get some momentum going," Mozeliak said. "I don't think anything has been determined. There's a lot of baseball left. So we're still pretty optimistic about where we are. But we recognize that we have to start playing better baseball."
Yadier Molina chose to rest a tendon in his foot instead of participating in his tenth All-Star Game in Denver on Tuesday. Nolan Arenado and Alex Reyes will be at Coors Field, but the rest of the Cardinals' roster will get some needed days off, including outfielders Tyler O'Neill and Harrison Bader, who recently returned to action and made a struggling lineup feel more complete.
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"Yes, we've had some injuries, but so have other teams," Mozeliak said. "We're going to have to navigate through that as we start back up on Friday."
The phones will be ringing. Can the Cardinals make a deal?
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