As any newcomer from the minors or another major-league club makes his way for the first time from the players’ parking lot to the Cardinals clubhouse, he is enveloped in history and greeted by its expectation.
The walls along the walk are chronicles of Cardinals achievements, past and present and soon to be updated. Nowhere within eyesight of a visitor is there any mention of where the current team sits, no outward sign of its place in this NL Central race. But all around them are the standings. The ones that matter most, as their manager pointed out recently. They hang over the players as they button up the Birds on the Bat at their locker and fly over them when they play at Busch Stadium — the championship banners, all 11. The season is a means to that one metric that measures every Cardinals club.
Bottomline, said their blunt manager, finish on top or forget it.
“There’s an expectation here where a winning season isn’t above .500; that means nothing to me,” Oliver Marmol stated. “The way I was brought up in this organization, it meant nothing. Making the playoffs is great. It’s not the expectation. The expectation is what happened in 2011. That’s it. There’s nothing underneath that. You’re one or zero. You either win the whole thing or you don’t. In my eyes, above .500 means nothing. You either win or you don’t. There are 29 losers. There’s one winner. That’s it.
“So the expectations for this organization when you come from somewhere else, I think, are different because every night is the mentality of a playoff game,” Marmol continued. “You’re expected to win. That’s what makes this place fun.”
The Cardinals return from the All-Star break with a 50-44 record, a ½-game deficit in the division, an NL MVP favorite in Paul Goldschmidt, an NL MVP challenger in Nolan Arenado, and the final months in the careers of two greats, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols. The Cardinals are in position for their 15th consecutive winning season. Business as usual.
They have gone 10 without a title.
Seven without a pennant.
“That’s the difference of doing it here — you’re expected to win,” Marmol added. “There’s a responsibility, but also an accountability by our fan base. You’re called on to win. For everybody, there’s the pressure that comes along with that.”
Despite a downturn in July, troubles with winning teams, and familiar pitching concerns, the Cardinals remain part of a duel with Milwaukee for the NL Central crown. They are a flawed team in an accommodating division.
When Adam Wainwright starts Friday night at Cincinnati, the Cardinals begin an eight-game road trip that will take them to the Aug. 2 trade deadline. The immediate challenge for the team will be who is missing from the roster for the two-game series in Toronto next week due to Canada’s vaccination requirements. Cardinals officials said they will have to make some roster moves. The starting rotation is not expected to be altered by those moves or Canada’s policy, the pitchers and team officials all confirmed in separate interviews.
The trade deadline could reshape the rotation as the Cardinal shop for a starting pitcher to provide necessary innings, at the least.
The Cardinals are well-positioned with prospects to be a player at the deadline. They have seven prospects in Baseball America’s updated Top 100, and buzz-building talents like Alec Burleson, Gordon Graceffo and Masyn Winn. Several sources within baseball, but not with the Cardinals, suggested they are as well situated as any team to make an offer for Washington outfielder Juan Soto, the 23-year-old superstar and talent rarely available at the deadline. The Nationals’ motivation for moving Soto will make clearer the asking price, but it will be a whopper. Soto, already one of the game’s best hitters, has 2 ½ years of control ahead before his agent, Scott Boras, can pursue a galactically massive contract in free agency.
Given the years invested in getting the farm system to a point it is primed to provide position players, the Cardinals will guard their prospects. In part, because they’ve already needed so many this season, like Nolan Gorman, Brendan Donovan and Juan Yepez.
“It’s good for our future,” Wainwright said. “I don’t think you see an organization on the brink of dying right now. You see an organization that is really thriving. And when you’ve got young guys who come up, that’s always what you need. You need those young guys who come up adding exciting and enjoyment to the clubhouse. We’ve just got a great mix of old and young in here that love to go out and win today.”
The Cardinals will check on Soto — because what team wouldn’t? — but continue to suggest they’re focused on pitching.
The talent available could be thin or require creativity. Two available starters, Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle, are Reds and the Cardinals are reluctant to deal within the division. One pitcher with the numbers and strikeout rates that interest the Cardinals, Boston right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, may not be available as the Red Sox contend. An unexpected option could emerge in Houston, where St. Louis-area native Jake Odorizzi could find himself without a spot in the Astros’ rotation despite a 3.56 ERA in 10 starts. A need-for-need swap would be a phone call away. There are other starters more readily available such as the Angels’ Noah Syndergaard or Colorado’s Chad Kuhl. Miami’s Pablo Lopez would be a costlier move given he’s more than a rental.
