On Saturday, the St. Louis Cardinals took a 9-1 loss in a tough game in London against their hated rivals in the Chicago Cubs.
Due to their struggles this season, some have begun to speculate that the team may eventually be sold at the trade deadline and begin rebuilding.
However, President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak maintained his stance on the issue, saying that the Cardinals have no plans at this time to be involved in the rebuild.
Instead, he said the goal remains the same, for him to add players and improve the roster for a possible stretch run.
More defeats like Saturday’s disappointing 9-1 defeat #cubs And #STLCards President John Mozeliak may have to re-evaluate his stance on Reconstruction.
“We don’t want to destroy this team, we are looking for ways to improve this team.”https://t.co/IEt1420jtD
— John Denton (@johndenton555) 24 June 2023
The Cardinals are currently living in the basement of the NL Central, as they have been for most of the season.
Nevertheless, Mozeliak ultimately intends to join and improve the club rather than sell at deadline.
The Cardinals haven’t been a seller at the deadline since 2018, when they traded away reliever Sam Tuivailala and outfielder Tommy Pham.
They still managed to finish that season with an 88–74 record, narrowly missing the postseason.
During Mozeliak’s tenure in the front office, 2018 was the only time the Cardinals were deadline sellers.
Mozeliak was active at last year’s trade deadline, and acquired veteran starters Jordan Montgomery and José Quintana.
The obvious issues for St. Louis are with the pitching staff, particularly the starting rotation, which lacks a true ace.
The bullpen is also hurting because of closer Ryan Helsley on the injured list.
With just a few weeks left until the deadline, it will be interesting to see what St. Louis decides to do.
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