The baseball world thought it had the 2025 St. Louis Cardinals all figured out. This was supposed to be the year they stumbled, slid to the bottom of the National League Central, and opened the floodgates for contending teams to raid their roster at the MLB Trade Deadline. Instead, the Cardinals are winning
Spoiler alert: that’s not happening.
With names like Nolan Arenado, Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz, and Erick Fedde seen as prime trade chips—especially with three of them on expiring contracts—rival general managers were licking their chops back in March. Teams were ready to pick the Cardinals clean by July, assuming they’d be out of the race and looking to reset. Except all the winning has gummed up the works.
Instead? The Cardinals flipped the Script
As of June 3, the Cardinals are 33-26, just four games behind the first-place Cubs, and sitting in position to snag the final National League Wild Card spot. Therefore they’re not selling—they’re buying, and that reality is making rival executives nervous.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, one frustrated general manager didn’t hold back:
“It sucks,” he said, reacting to the Cardinals’ unexpected success.
Why the frustration? Because teams had been eyeing two-time All-Star closer Ryan Helsley as a prime bullpen upgrade. But after a rocky start, Helsley locked in during May—posting a 2.45 ERA, notching nine saves, and tallying 13 strikeouts in 11 games. Because winning does not suck.
And it wasn’t just Helsley. Arms like Erick Fedde (3-5, 3.82 ERA), Steven Matz (3-1, 2.16 ERA), and Sonny Gray (6-1, 3.65 ERA) were all expected to hit the trade block. Matz, in particular, has shined as a swingman and would be a valuable piece for any playoff push. Even Miles Mikolas was mentioned as a potential trade target.
Now? None of these Cardinals are going anywhere.
Unless the Cardinals collapse in June—something that seems unlikely given their recent winning surge—they’ll enter July as buyers, not sellers. Thus, that shift has clubs like the Yankees, Phillies, and Dodgers scrambling to find new options for bullpen and rotation depth.
The Cardinals are doing so well that Oli Marmol is a candidate for Manager of the Year.
And thoughts of canning Marmol and Mozeliak may have been, in fact, premature.
Not only are the Red Birds not giving up talent, but they might also end up competing against those very teams in the trade market.
For a team many had written off as a rebuilding project, the Cardinals are suddenly contenders—and they’re acting like it. Furthermore, with the Trade Deadline looming and momentum on their side, St. Louis could look to add key pieces for a deep October run.
Forget the rebuild—the Cardinals are charging forward.
