Open Thread - July 14

Good morning, Viva El Birdos. There is no morning post today but we’re not going to leave you without an open thread to discuss the various happenings in the world of St. Louis Cardinals baseball. There’s a lot to talk about too.

For starters, Cardinals baseball is finally back today with Miles Mikolas taking the ball against the Nationals, once of the few teams with a worse record than the Cardinals.

Today is also a notable day for another reason:

And there are a few trade deadline related things to be aware of, if you aren’t already. First, Derrick Goold reported that at least two teams have already been told the Cardinals are not trading Jordan Walker or Lars Nootbaar. Goold also mentions that the Cardinals aren’t looking to dump salary but instead want to add pieces around their core for next year.

That’s probably not too surprising but it’s concrete reporting nonetheless. And then there’s also this from Goold about the pitching:

The Cardinals have at least three unclaimed openings in the 2024 rotation, and they are shopping for starters who could help address those vacancies now. They want strikeouts. They need consistent innings to avoid the trapdoor of the past three years.

We’re now about two and a half weeks away from the trade deadline and the Cardinals plans are starting to become clear. But that’s just one topic of discussion.

\You know what to do VEB. The post is yours. Discuss away.