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<\/p>\nAs the St. Louis Cardinals ponder their deadline strategy, they must factor in one of the season\u2019s most remarkable developments, knowing it partly explains their unexpected success.<\/p>\n
The Cardinals have used the injured list only six times. They currently have only one player, infielder Ram\u00f3n Ur\u00edas, on the IL. They have yet to lose a starting pitcher to injury. Contrast that with the Chicago Cubs, who currently have 13 pitchers alone on the IL. Or pretty much every other team, almost every one of which has dealt with one injury after another.<\/p>\n
The Cardinals\u2019 good fortune also includes breakouts from All-Star right fielder Jordan Walker, rookie second baseman J.J. Wetherholt and catcher Iv\u00e1n Herrera.<\/p>\n
Which is not to say they\u2019re entirely lucky.<\/p>\n
The Cardinals, in a difficult part of their schedule, have already won road series against the Atlanta Braves and Cubs. They currently hold the third National League wild-card position as they prepare for their final homestand before the break, five games in four days against the Milwaukee Brewers, then three against the Braves.<\/p>\n
On June 29, 2025, the Cardinals were in the same wild-card position but an even better place in the division, 2 1\/2 games out of first place as opposed to their current 7 1\/2 games. But they proceeded to lose 17 of their next 25 games, prompting them to unload relievers Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton and Steven Matz at the deadline.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s conceivable the same type of collapse will occur. The Cardinals\u2019 position-player group is the second-youngest in baseball. Their pitching staff is the fifth-youngest. But if the Cardinals stay relatively healthy and keep playing at a high level, first-year president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom will have little choice but to supplement his roster.<\/p>\n
Bloom isn\u2019t about to abandon his plan to build a sustainable contender, according to people briefed on his thinking. But he also won\u2019t ignore the opportunity for the Cardinals to return to the postseason for the first time since 2022. The long-term impact of playing meaningful games in September cannot be quantified. But the experience can help lead to future success.<\/p>\n
The Cardinals are deep in an area where most other teams are not \u2014 catching.<\/p>\n
Herrera (26), Pedro Pag\u00e9s (27) and Jimmy Crooks, soon to be 25 years old, are in the majors. Rainiel Rodriguez, playing at Double A at 19, is probably untouchable. But the Cardinals have another catching prospect, Leo Bernal, 22, at Triple A. Perhaps Bloom can leverage that relative surplus to address the team\u2019s most pressing need, controllable pitching.<\/p>\n
Rival clubs also are likely to show interest in right-hander Dustin May, closer Riley O\u2019Brien, left-handed reliever JoJo Romero and outfielder Lars Nootbaar. All are vital to the success of the 2026 Cardinals. But Bloom at least holds the option of maneuvering creatively and turning one or more of them into pieces for now and the future.<\/p>\n
Superior health helped the Cardinals reach this point. So did quality performance. The next month will determine their next steps.<\/p>\n
How Cubs\u2019 Swanson turned it around<\/p>\n
Major-league teams carry multiple hitting and pitching coaches to handle the additional preparation necessary in baseball\u2019s age of information. The different voices enable players to seek different perspectives, as Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson did in mid-June when he went to assistant hitting coach John Mallee in something of a desperate state.<\/p>\n
Swanson, 32, praised the consistency of Dustin Kelly, the Cubs\u2019 lead hitting coach, saying, \u201cOur team is so stable in general because he\u2019s Steady Eddie.\u201d But as the 11-year veteran sank to a .175 batting average and .587 OPS, he wanted a fresh perspective.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m my own worst enemy at times,\u201d Swanson said. \u201cSomeone said to me that I\u2019m a great player and a great coach and helper for other people. But I\u2019m a really bad coach for myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI basically just had those honest conversations with some folks on staff: \u2018I legitimately need help. I know I can do it. I just need actual guidance.\u2019 Most pros are pretty self-sustainable. But we still love being coached. Because we always feel like we can continue to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n Before Dansby Swanson went on a tear, he was stuck in a hitting slump. (Geoff Stellfox \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Cubs employ three hitting coaches \u2014 Kelly, Mallee and Juan Cabreja \u2014 plus an analytically oriented staffer, assistant director of major-league development Ben Martin, who is assigned to position players.<\/p>\n
Kelly said he had no problem with Swanson going to Mallee, who also works closely with All-Star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. The way Kelly describes it, a coach can tell a player the same thing over and over, but sometimes it only clicks after the player hears it from someone else.<\/p>\n
Swanson told Mallee, \u201cWhatever you think I need to be doing, I\u2019m in.\u201d The two got to work, trying to bring Swanson back to the place he was at the start of the season, when he talked about being more athletic in the box and less worried about mechanics.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to get his (bat) path to match the planes of the pitch more,\u201d Mallee said. \u201cAll his work is driving the ball to right-center, staying on the ball. Which keeps him closed longer and allows the bat to unfold toward the middle of the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the athleticism. His practices are not mechanically oriented now. They\u2019re more feel, direction \u2014 the path itself, trying to drive the ball in a certain area. That\u2019s result-oriented training. The body will evolve and respond to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Swanson sure did, going from perhaps the worst stretch of his career to arguably his best, becoming the first player since Joe DiMaggio in 1939 to produce 26 RBIs in a 10-game span. He was just waiting for the right advice, the proverbial light bulb to go on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it does,\u201d he said, \u201cI feel I can do some special things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rangers facing difficult reality<\/p>\n
Might it happen again? Might the Texas Rangers again sucker president of baseball operations Chris Young into becoming a buyer when their performance does not necessarily warrant that type of commitment?<\/p>\n
In 2024, the Rangers entered the deadline 3 1\/2 games back in the American League West, six back in the wild-card race, but their record was only 52-55. They probably should have sold, but as defending World Series champions, it would have been a bad look.<\/p>\n
So, Young traded only pitcher Michael Lorenzen while acquiring left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin and catcher Carson Kelly. Part of the cost for Kelly was catcher Liam Hicks, who is now thriving with the Miami Marlins. And Texas missed the playoffs by eight games.<\/p>\n
In 2025, the Rangers were in a better place \u2014 57-52 at the deadline, tied for the third wild card, five games out in the division. They needed offense but instead doubled down on their pitching, acquiring right-hander Merrill Kelly and relievers Phil Maton and Danny Coulombe.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t work. The Rangers went through a 2-10 stretch in August and finished the season in a 2-11 funk, this time missing the playoffs by six games.<\/p>\n
Now here they go again.<\/p>\n
Playing in the B-list AL, the Rangers hold the third wild card and are only 1 1\/2 games out in the division. But their record is 45-45, and two of their best hitters, shortstop Corey Seager and left fielder Wyatt Langford, are again on the injured list<\/a>. The two have played in only 25 games together this season. The Rangers\u2019 record with both in the lineup is only 13-12.<\/p>\n Young is intensely competitive. He will want to buy. But he gave up three pitchers for Kelly who now rank among the Arizona Diamondbacks\u2019 top 16 prospects<\/a>, according to The Athletic\u2019s Keith Law. In January, he gave up top-100 prospect Gavin Fien and four other minor leaguers for left-hander MacKenzie Gore. Per Law, Fien and two of the others rank among the Washington Nationals\u2019 top 18<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Rangers\u2019 remaining strength of schedule is tied for the second-easiest in the majors<\/a>. Their rotation could be dominant in the postseason, but that would require Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi remaining effective into October, a risky proposition.<\/p>\n Banking on Seager and Langford also would be problematic. Seager has made six trips to the injured list in the past two seasons, twice this year for back trouble. Langford has gone on the IL five times in the last two years.<\/p>\n With limited prospect capital, it will be difficult for the Rangers to address all of their needs. Law rates their farm system in the bottom five<\/a>, and their top prospect, shortstop Sebastian Walcott, is recovering from internal brace surgery on his right elbow.<\/p>\n Young will not want to concede. Neither will his new manager, Skip Schumaker. But the Rangers will need to be realistic. And this deadline might be the time.<\/p>\n Why O\u2019s must go long with Rutschman<\/p>\n Toward the end of June, Baltimore Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias dismissed the idea<\/a> of trading catcher Adley Rutschman, saying, \u201cWe want him here forever.\u201d<\/p>\n Well, what\u2019s Elias\u2019 definition of \u201cforever?\u201d<\/p>\n Rutschman, 28, is under control for only one more season after this one. He is the 11th catcher to earn three All-Star selections within his first four seasons<\/a>. At this point, he is unlikely to settle for anything but a long-term deal.<\/p>\n
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