St. Louis Cardinals -- 2025 and trying to contend

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Record: 51-45, 3rd, 14 GB Cincinnati

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Record: 52-45, 3rd, 12.5 GB Cincinnati

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Record: 53-45, 2nd, 12.5 GB Cincinnati

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Record: 54-45, 2nd, 11.5 GB Cincinnati

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MLB news: July 26 -- Week 17 - Awards and standings

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Record: 55-45, 2nd, 10.5 GB Cincinnati

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Record: 55-46, 2nd, 10.5 GB Cincinnati

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Looking to bolster their starting rotation, the St. Louis Cardinals have completed a deal with the San Francisco Giants acquiring left-hander Aaron Rezek in exchange for outfielder Corbin Carroll and left-handed relief pitcher Ryan Weathers.
The Cardinals, who sit in second place in the National League Central Division some 10.5 games behind the Reds, right now sit second in the NL wild-card race.
But they will likely be without right-handed starting pitcher David Matos until mid-September and already have a rookie Mike McGreevy in their rotation.
Rozek, 31, has made six starts for the Giants this season going 2-2 with a 2.87 ERA.
He also pitched in 13 games at AAA Sacramento, going 6-5 with a 5.21 ERA.
For his career, Rozek has pitched in 91 major league games/45 starts and gone 14-23 with one save and a 4.34 ERA.
He broke into the majors with the Twins in 2023. He also spent the 2025 season in Seattle before joining the Giants in 2026.
The Cardinals acquired Carroll, 26, from the Arizona Diamondbacks during the 2025 season and he played a big role over the final 54 games helping them reach the playoffs and eventually win the World Series.
In his 54 regular-season games with St. Louis during that year, he hit .276 with seven home runs and 24 RBIs.
Hoping they had found their center fielder and lead-off hitter for the next few seasons, the Cardinals were deeply disappointed in his 2026 campaign when hit .196 with seven home runs and 35 RBIs in 110 games/100 starts.
It didn't get any better in 2027 for the now 26-year-old, as he missed six weeks with a shoulder injury.
And he did play, it wasn't good as Carroll hit an unsightly .130 with no home runs and two RBIs in 31 games/27 starts.
In 50 games at AAA Memphis this season, Carroll hit .266 with 12 homes and 36 RBIs.
Weathers, 27, also played a key role in the Cardinals run to the 2026 World Series title after being acquired in a mid-season trade.
Brought in from Oakland, he pitched in 35 games/two starts that year going 2-1 with a 3.65 ERA.
His numbers were almost identical in 2026, as he pitched in 56 games/9 starts and went 4-4 with a 3.65 ERA.
Weather was given a spot in the rotation to start the season but failed miserably.
He made seven starts and went 0-4 with a 7.82 ERA.
Sent to the bullpen, he wasn't any better before eventually being traded.
He worked 21 games in relief going 1-0 with a 7.06 ERA.

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Record: 56-46, 2nd, 10.5 GB Cincinnati

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The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired 30-year-old first baseman Justin Yurchak from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for
Drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 12th round of the MLB Draft in 2017, Yurchak was traded to the Dodgers on Nov. 1, 2018.
He has spent most of his career in the minor leagues, except for 57 games /52 starts with the Dodgers between 2026 and 2027.
In those games, Yurchak has hit .221 with eight home runs and 33 RBIs.
Acquired from the Los Angeles Angels 2024 season, Rodriguez right away jumped into the Cardinals rotation and remained there through the start of the current campaign.
In those two-plus seasons, Rodriguez went 27-16 with a 3.64 ERA in 75 starts.
But a poor spring training forced Rodriguez to open the season at AAA Memphis.
Called to the majors after David Matos went down to injury, Rodriguez struggled in four starts going 0-2 with a 8.15 ERA.
Yurchak will report to AAA Memphis.
Rodriguez will be replaced in the Cardinals' rotation by Aaron Rezak, who has recently been acquired from the San Francisco Giants.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have acquired right-handed relief pitcher Kevin Ginkel from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for AAA outfielder Tre Fletcher.
Ginkel, 33, has pitched in 36 games for the Twins this season going 2-0 with two saves and a 1.66 ERA.
Taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 22nd round of the 2016 MLB draft, he was signed as a free agent by the Twins on February 28, 2024.
He pitched in the majors for Arizona during the 2019 though 2023 seasons.
Ginkel spent the 2023 through 2027 seasons in the majors with Minnesota.
For his career, he has worked in 189 games going 7-10 with seven saves and a 3.48 ERA.
Fletcher has been in the Cardinals system since being take in the second round of the 2019 draft.
The 26-year-old has spent time in the majors during the 2024, 2025 and 2026 seasons and while he showed occasional signs of power, he struggled to hit consistently.
In his 105 major league games, he has hit .200 with 17 home runs and 46 RBIs.
This season at AAA Memphis, Fletcher has hit .245 with 25 home runs and 64 RBIs.

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Record: 57-46, 2nd, 10.5 GB Cincinnati

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With the trade deadline approaching the St. Louis Cardinals completed a pair of deals with the Baltimore Orioles.
The first featured a pair of minor-league pitchers as St. Louis acquired right-handed pitcher Hansel Rincon in exchange for fellow righty Isidro Peralta.
Rincon, 24, has spent the 2027 season between Rookie Ball and Class A Delaware.
Signed out of an independent league in 2023, Rincon has pitched in 93 games/17 starts and gone 6-13 with 33 saves and a 3.90 ERA.
The 19-year-old Peralta was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2024.
Over the past three seasons, he has pitched in 38 games/all starts and gone 1-16 with a 5.33 ERA.

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In their second trade with Baltimore, the Cardinals acquired 23-year-old center fielder Jack Lausch from the Orioles in exchange for minor league pitcher Ken Woods and outfielder Luis Pino.
Lausch has split time this season between the Orioles and AAA Norfolk, having been in the minors at the time of the trade.
In 48 games with the Orioles, Lausch has hit .271 with five homers and 17 RBIs in 48 games/48 starts.
For Norfolk, he has played 20 games/19 starts and hit .239 with four home runs and nine RBIs.
Lausch is a first-round pick out of Notre Dame in the 2025 draft.
His minor league statistics feature a .271 batting average with 74 home runs and 255 RBIs in 379 games.
A 19-year-old right-handed pitcher Woods was taken by the Cardinals in the sixth round of the 2026 draft.
He has spent the past two seasons with a Rookie League team in the Florida State League.
During that time, he has pitched in 38 games going 20-3 with a 1.76 ERA.
Signed as a free agent out of Cuba, the 23-year-old Pina has played in 277 minor-league games for the Cardinals hitting .226 with 34 home runs and 119 RBIs.

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Record: 58-46, 2nd, 10.5 GB Cincinnati

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MLB news: August 1 -- Players and Pitchers of the Month for July

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MLB news: August 1 -- Rookies of the Month for July and Standings

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MLB news: August 1 -- American League leaders

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MLB news: August 1 -- National League leaders

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Cards news: August 1 -- Team statistics for July