The final two months of the Cardinals’ 2023 season were largely devoted to sorting through decisions for the future, giving experience to young developing players and overall evaluation.
This season, the Cardinals signaled very clearly at the trade deadline that they’re aiming to secure a postseason berth and ultimately chase down the Milwaukee Brewers for the National League Central division crown and author a worst-to-first turnaround after falling to the division cellar last year.
From top to bottom, the NL Central went into Thursday as the most tightly grouped division in the majors. First place and last place were separated by 10 games, and none of the four teams chasing the division-leading Brewers would have a wild-card playoff spot if the regular season wrapped up at the end of July.
The Cardinals (56-52) were closest to a wild-card playoff berth entering the day, and they were 1½ games back of the Arizona Diamondbacks (58-51). The Cardinals also trailed the New York Mets (57-51) by one game in the chase for the final wild-card position. The Cardinals will host the Mets on Monday afternoon (4:15 p.m. first pitch) at Busch Stadium in a makeup game from a rainout on May 8.
People are also reading…
Here’s a look at where each team stands entering play on Thursday:
Milwaukee Brewers
Record: 61-47, leading NL Central
Playoff chances (per ): 81%
Record against Cardinals: 6-1
Trade deadline additions: Aaron Civale, RHP (acquired on July 3); Frankie Montas, RHP; Tyler Jay, LHP; Nick Mears, RHP
Trade deadline departures: Jakob Junis, RHP; Joey Wiemer, OF; Gregory Barrios, SS (minors); T.J. Shook, RHP (minors); Bradley Blalock, RHP (minors); Yujanyer Herrera, RHP (minors)
Games remaining against Cardinals: 6
Rundown: The Brewers went into Thursday having spent 112 of 126 days this season in first place in the division under first-year manager Pat Murphy. They’re among the top offenses in the majors in terms of scoring (4.71 runs per game, ninth), batting average (.254, seventh) and on-base plus slugging percentage (.730, 11th).
They’ve lost former MVP and two-time batting title winner Christian Yelich to a lower back injury, at least for the time being. He’d slashed .315/.406/.504 in 73 games this season.
The sixth-best team ERA in the majors (3.74), the Brewers added starters Civale and Montas since the start of July. They also acquired reliever Mears, who made 41 appearances for the Colorado Rockies and posted a strikeout rate of 11.3 per nine innings.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Cardinals
Record: 56-52, second in NL Central
Games back: 5
Playoff chances (per ): 26.9%
Record against NL Central: 16-16
Trade deadline additions: Tommy Pham, OF; Erick Fedde, RHP; Shawn Armstrong, RHP
Trade deadline departures: Tommy Edman, INF/OF; Dylan Carlson, OF; Oliver Gonzalez, RHP (minors); Nick Raposo, C (minors, waivers); Giovanny Gallegos, RHP (hasn’t yet cleared waivers)
Divisional games remaining: 20
Rundown: At the deadline, the Cardinals reunited with veteran outfielder Pham and bolstered their pitching staff with right-handed starting pitcher Fedde (7-4, 3.11 ERA) and right-handed reliever Armstrong.
Pham helps address an inconsistent offense that was among the worst in the majors against left-handed pitching. The team had the second-worst OPS against left-handed pitchers behind only the Miami Marlins.
The starting rotation depth has been thin this season, and Lance Lynn went on the injured list following his start on Tuesday. Fedde, who is under club control for next season, gives the Cardinals a needed starting pitching addition. Armstrong, who has not had the same type of success (5.40 ERA) this season as last season (1.38), provides an experienced option to take some of the workload off of the current bullpen arms.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Record: 55-53, third in NL Central
Playoff chances (per ): 14.2%
Record against Cardinals: 4-5
Games back: 6
Trade deadline additions: Bryan De La Cruz, OF; Isiah Kiner-Falefa, SS/3B; Josh Walker, LHP; Jalen Beeks, LHP; Ronaldys Jimenez, LHP (minors); Nick Yorke, 2B (minors), Billy Cook, INF/OF (minors)
Trade deadline departures: Martin Perez, LHP; Luis Peralta, LHP (minors); Quinn Priester, RHP; Charles McAdoo, INF/OF (minors); Garrett Forrester, 1B (minors); Jun-Seok Shim, RHP (minors); Nicolas Carreno, LHP (minors); Patrick Reilly, RHP (minors)
Games remaining with Cardinals: 4
Rundown: The Pirates pitching staff features one of the best 1-2 punches in the NL leading their starting rotation with NL All-Star starter and rookie phenom Paul Skenes (6-1, 1.90 ERA) and right-hander Mitch Keller (10-5, 3.30). They have the seventh-best team ERA in the majors, but their relievers were among the bottom third in ERA (23rd, 4.28). They added left-handed reliever Beeks at the deadline to help the bullpen.
They ranked 28th in the majors in OPS (.669), and their 4.18 runs per game ranked 22nd. They sought to improve their lineup by adding De La Cruz (18 home runs) and Kiner-Falefa (.292 batting average).
Cincinnati Reds
Record: 52-56, fourth in NL Central
Games back: 9
Playoff chances (per ): 4.3%
Record against Cardinals: 3-4
Trade deadline additions: Ty France, 3B; Davis Wendzel, 3B; Jakob Junis, RHP; Joey Wiemer, OF; Ovis Portes, RHP (minors)
Trade deadline departures: Frankie Montas, RHP; Lucas Sims, RHP; Austin Slater, OF; Livan Soto, SS; Andruw Salcedo, C (minors)
Games remaining with Cardinals: 6
Rundown: The Reds were just slightly above league average in scoring (4.41 runs per game). They’ve made team speed a dangerous weapon this season. They’d registered an MLB-best 156 stolen bases through Wednesday’s games. However, they batted just .230 as a team. That’s the third-worst mark in the big leagues. Multiple position players have missed large chunks of the season due to injury.
They traded away from their pitching staff, dealing Montas within the division and reliever Sims to the Boston Red Sox. Both Montas and Sims were set to be free agents at the end of this season.
They acquired Wiemer, who is under club control through 2028, and a former All-Star first baseman with France.
Chicago Cubs
Record: 52-58, fifth in NL Central
Games back: 10
Playoff chances (per ): 4.2%
Record against Cardinals: 3-6
Trade deadline additions: Nate Pearson, RHP; Isaac Paredes, 3B; Jack Neely, RHP (minors); Ben Cowles, 3B (minors)
Trade deadline departures: Mark Leiter Jr., RHP; Jesus Tinoco, RHP (waivers); Chris Morel, INF/OF; Hunter Bigge, RHP; Ty Johnson, RHP (minors)
Games remaining with Cardinals: 3 (including Friday)
Rundown: The Cubs got out to an 18-13 start through April, but they were under .500 for May and June. They scratched out a 13-12 mark in July.
The Cubs have been dogged by offensive struggles this season. They entered Thursday with the 23rd-ranked scoring offense, and they were also among the bottom third of the majors in home runs, OPS and batting average. Those inconsistencies kept the Cubs from adding aggressively at the trade deadline.
They have had strong performances from their relievers in recent weeks. Since June 27, the boasted the best bullpen ERA in the majors.