Todays 8-3 win over the Nationals improved the Cardinals record to 47-42, and continued the teams impre sive run of play over the last two months. After stumbling out of the gates to a 15-24 start, the Cards have now won 32 of their last 50 games, and have surged into the second NL wild card slot. This has put St. Louis into a buyer position as the trade deadline approaches, and as Ken Rosenthal commented in an appearance this week on the Foul Territory show ( ), the Cards perhaps have an interesting edge over some other teams looking to make moves. The Cardinals Pascal Dupuis Jersey have Major League pieces to trade , Rosenthal said, since the team might have a bit of a surplus of position players due to some upcoming returns from the injured list. With many clubs still straddling the line between being clear-cut buyers or sellers, teams are not going to want to give up nece sarily prospects or make certain kinds of moves. But if they can fill a need with major leaguers from your club, and give you perhaps exce s from their own, that is going to be valuable . Since the Cards need starting pitching, the most obvious comp here is the 2022 deadline trade that saw St. Louis obtain from the Yankees in a one-for-one swap for . Naturally, finding a repeat of such a succe sful deal isnt easy, nor are any of the Cardinals current trade chips nece sarily as valuable as Bader was in 2022, coming off a Gold Glove award and above-average offensive seasons in 2020-21. Rosenthal suggested that catcher or could potentially be dangled in trade talks at this deadline. Former top prospect Carlson could be seen as a change-of-scenery candidate after two seasons of struggles, and Herrera is maybe superfluous since the Cards have and at catcher. (Herrera is himself on the 10-day IL due to lower back tightne s, but is expected back after the All-Star break.) Getting these injured players back is the first step in whatever plans the Cardinals might have in mind for July 30, and on that front, should return this week. An oblique strain has sidelined Nootbaar since the end of May, but he has now banked seven rehab games with Double-A Springfield. Cardinals told reporters (including ) that Nootbaar came out feeling good after this recent stretch of games, and technically, Nootbaar could be activated from the 10-day IL as early as Monday. However, since the Cardinals are on the road and wrapping up a series in Washington on Monday, it is probably more likely that Nootbaar returns during the Cards five-game homestand prior to the All-Star break. Nootbaar has hit .234/.337/.404 over 164 plate appearances this season, and is hopefully in for an extended stretch of good health after already making two trips to the IL in 2024. The outfielder suffered a rib injury during Spring Training that delayed his season debut until April 12, but in between his IL visits took on a starting role in the corner outfield positions. could very well be taking Nootbaars spot in Springfield, as Edman is slated to begin a minor league rehab a signment with the Double-A affiliate on Tuesday. This will mark Edmans first game action of any kind in 2024, as Edman has been battling through a lengthy recovery proce s since undergoing arthroscopic wrist surgery last October. Since Edman will need at least a few weeks of rehab games considering his long layoff, its po sible he wont be ready for the big league roster by the July 30 deadline, but the Cardinals should have enough of a sense of his status by then to determine whether or not Edmans return could perhaps make someone else on the roster expendable in a trade. Right-hander threw to Edman during a live batting practice se sion on Saturday, with OBrien throwing 20 pitches in total. OBrien hasnt pitched since Opening Day due to a right flexor strain, and as details, OBrien started throwing in mid-June before some more forearm discomfort during a live BP se sion led to consultations with Dr. Keith Meister. Fortunately, it appears as though OBrien has been cleared of any more serious arm i sues since he has returned to throwing, and a rehab a signment could potentially be in the works if he continues to feel pain-free. Radim Zohorna Jersey