Cardinals Star Surprisingly Mentioned As Top Trade Deadline Candidate

St. Louis is going to have some tough decisions to make over the next few months

May 26, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Sonny Gray (54) pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

If the St. Louis Cardinals can continue to find ways to win games, things will sort themselves out ahead of the trade deadline.

St. Louis currently is in third place with a 28-30 record but has been one of the hottest teams in baseball over the last few weeks. Many wrote the Cardinals off, but they have started to look like a team that actually could fight for a playoff spot.

Luckily, there are just under two months away until the deadline so St. Louis has plenty of time to work its way up the standings even more.

Speculation already is starting to pick up about who could end up being moved and Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller put together a list of the top 30 players who could be moved. Miller surprisingly had Cardinals ace Sonny Gray at No. 10.

"Gray's back-loaded contract is going to make things interesting. St. Louis might be willing to part with the ace who has a 2.92 ERA since the beginning of 2022, but how eager will other teams be to add a pitcher who turns 35 this November and is still owed at least $65M?

"Might be similar to last summer's Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander trades, in which the strength of the prospect haul will hinge on how much of that future payroll the Cardinals are willing to retain. As things currently stand, though, St. Louis would be the No. 6 seed in the NL bracket, so this team is a far cry from selling."

Gray has been exactly what the Cardinals needed this season and it would be extremely unlikely to see him get moved. St. Louis is more likely to add than subtract at this point thanks to its recent hot streak.

Even if the Cardinals do end up selling, though, Gray likely won't be on the move.

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