The St. Louis Cardinals are playing competitive baseball right now. They are 42-36, which puts them 4.5 games back in the National League Central division, and just 1.0 games back in the National League Wild Card race. The Cardinals are nowhere near out of the playoff picture, and the team truly thinks they can still make it. With the MLB trade deadline slowly approaching, St. Louis has to make a decision on whether or not they want to sell or buy.

Now, the Cardinals have a few players with no-trade clauses in their contracts in Sonny Gray and Miles Mikolas. Both Gray and Mikolas have no interest in waiving their no-trade clause, so they are not expected to be traded. However, other star players like Nolan Arenado have been at the center of trade conversations. Still, there is not guarantee St. Louis will be sellers at the deadline.

They will welcome the Chicago Cubs to Busch Stadium for a four-game series starting Monday night before heading to Cleveland for three games to finish the week. The Cardinals will head to Wrigley Field next week for Fourth of July weekend, as well. This stretch of games is not going to be easy. If St. Louis comes out of it losing six or seven of those 10 games, there is a chance they sell at the deadline. However, if the team can finish those 10 games with a winning record, they should go all in on the playoffs.

Below is one player the Cardinals should consider trading if they are sellers, and one they should trade if they are buyers.

Nolan Arenado is the easy answer if the Cardinals Sell

As mentioned, Arenado is already at the center of trade conversations. There are plenty of teams that could use a third baseman with the skills of Arenado.

On the season, the Gold Glover is slashing .247/.310/.404 with 10 home runs, 39 RBI, 36 runs scored, and 23 walks to just 32 strikeouts. The right-handed batter has always had great bat-to-ball skills, but some of his other tools are starting to regress.

As it stands right now, Arenado is on pace to have his career-worst OPS, not counting his rookie season. Additionally, the third baseman currently has the lowest batting average of his career. Now, there is plenty of time for him to raise his numbers, but it is clear that he is beginning to hit the backend of his career.

Even with his numbers not being as high this year, they are still above the Major League average. That means Arenado can still hit the ball and produce at a high level. Because of that, St. Louis would be able to get a fantastic return on him.

One thing to keep in mind is Arenado has a large contract. He is getting paid $21 million this season, but that drops to $16 million in 2026 and $15 million in 2027. A player of his caliber should be getting paid a little bit more than that. With his affordable — for what he is truly worth — contract, and his years of club control, Arenado should be a hot commodity this July.

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Cardinals have to be willing to trade Max Rajcic

The Cardinals have some team needs. One that really pops out is a power hitter in the lineup. St. Louis is 24th in home runs this season with just 74 in 78 games. The Cardinals are great at hitting with runners in scoring positions, and they will take the extra base, while scoring runs. However, they just do not leave the yard often.

A true power-hitting threat would fit great in the lineup in St. Louis. Players like Eugenio Suarez and Taylor Ward come to mind. They would have spots in the lineup immediately, and they would be leading the team in homers by a good amount.

In order to acquire someone like that, St. Louis has to be willing to part ways with one of their top prospects. The good news is it would not take a top-1o prospect in the organization. The Cardinals could get away with trading someone in the 20-30 range of their top prospects.

Max Rajcic is the No. 23 prospect in the organization. He is currently in Double-A, but a promotion to Triple-A could be in his near future. This year with the Springfield Cardinals, Rajcic has a 4.30 ERA, 60 strikeouts, 21 walks, and a 2.37 oBA in 58.2 innings pitched.

He is very talented, and just 23 years old. The right-hander has plenty of time to develop, and going to an organization that could use him sooner rather than later would be good for Rajcic.

Pairing Max Rajcic with another MLB-ready player, or low-level prospect would allow St. Louis to land a power hitter they truly need.