Important Cardinals Duo Reportedly 'Good As Gone' With Trade Deadline Approaching

St. Louis reportedly will look extremely different shortly

The St. Louis Cardinals are spiraling out of control right now.

St. Louis has struggled all season to this point. The Cardinals are in last place in the National League Central and at this point, they may be too far out of the playoff race to get themselves back in. St. Louis currently is 35-51 and has lost six of its last 10 games. 

With the August 1 trade deadline quickly approaching, it's seemingly more and more likely that the club will end up being sellers ahead of the deadline. Two players who are expected to be on the move are starters Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

"To fully grasp the Cardinals' futility, check out the final, embarrassing play of their 10-9 loss to the (Miami Marlins) on Wednesday night," Rosenthal said. "The Cardinals are in last place in the NL Central, 12 1/2 games out of first, 5 1/2 games behind the fourth-place (Pittsburgh Pirates). Montgomery and Flaherty, both rentals, are as good as gone." 

Montgomery and Flaherty arguably have been the club's two best starting pitchers so far this season. Montgomery is leading the team with a 3.28 ERA and Flaherty is third on the staff with a 4.60 ERA. Flaherty struggled out the gate but has looked more like himself recently. Both Montgomery and Flaherty are set to hit free agency this upcoming offseason so there's no way to know if St. Louis could retain either. Also, at this point, it may make sense for the Cardinals to do a reset on the rotation in general and give some younger players -- like No. 3 prospect Gordon Graceffo -- a chance to see what they can do at the big league level. 

The 2023 season has been a disappointment so far and it sounds like the Cardinals soon will turn their focus to the 2024 campaign. 

More MLB: Major Shakeup Reportedly Could Be Coming For Cardinals Ahead Of Trade Deadline