ST. LOUIS — Change is coming to the St. Louis Cardinals, according to president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, a sign the underperforming team might deal veterans for prospects ahead of the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
St. Louis started Monday last in the National League Central at 40-53, on track for its first losing record since 2007.
“Usually when you’re having a year like this, it’s more than one thing that went wrong,” Mozeliak said before a game against the Miami Marlins. “I feel like where this club’s at right now, we just know it’s not working intact. We do know we have to make some changes.
“If we can find talent that we think can help emerge in 2024, that’d be great. 2025? I wouldn’t rule that out either. But 2026 seems a long way away.”
“I don’t think this is going to happen overnight,” Mozeliak added. “Change is good if it helps you. We’re not so stubborn or arrogant to say we’re going to keep doing our system and hoping for a better outcome. We understand there’s been a shift and we’re going to try to adjust to it. We’re going to take a hard look at ourselves.”
Among starting pitchers, Miles Mikolas is under contract for 2024. Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery are eligible to become free agents, and Adam Wainwright plans to retire after this season,
“Pitching, pitching and pitching” is the theme of the deadline and during free agency for the Cardinals, Mozeliak said.
“We do like the collection of hitters we have,” he said.
“I don’t have any intentions of trading anybody like them,” Mozeliak said.
St. Louis wants to obtain pitchers who cause “swing and miss.”
“I think the process we have in place can be tweaked,” Mozeliak said. “I don’t think we need to redo it. You are who you are. We’ve been really good defensively and we understood how to shift. Having pitchers put the ball on the ground was something we benefited from.”
St. Louis signed 35-year-old right-hander Ryan Tepera on Monday. The 11-year veteran has a 19-20 record and a 3.59 ERA in 371 major league games, all but one in relief.
Tepera was 2-2 with a 7.27 ERA in 10 relief appearances this season for the Los Angeles Angels, then was released in May. He made nine minor league appearances for the Texas Rangers, then was released Friday.
Left-hander Genesis Cabrera was designated for assignment. The 26-year-old reliever had been with the Cardinals since 2018.
Cabrera was unhappy with his recent use. He went 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA and five holds this season and last pitched in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Washington Nationals. He allowed two runs and three hits while striking out three over one inning.
The days leading up to the 2025 NHL trade deadline were a furious final sprint as contenders looked to stock up for a postseason run while rebuilding clubs added prospects and draft capital.
After the overnight Brock Nelson blockbuster Thursday, Friday lived up to expectations, with Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand and other high-profile players finishing the day on different teams than they started with. All told, NHL teams made 24 trades on deadline day involving 47 players.
Which teams and players won the day? Who might not feel as well about the situation after trade season? Reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski identify the biggest winners and losers of the 2025 NHL trade deadline:
There are some who saw what the Carolina Hurricanes did at the trade deadline — or perhaps failed to do after they traded Mikko Rantanen — and believe they’re cooked when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, based on the projections from Stathletes, the Canes remain the team with the highest chances of winning the Cup, at 16.7%.
Standing before them on Sunday are the Winnipeg Jets (5 p.m. ET, ESPN+). The Jets had a relatively quiet deadline, adding Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev, though sometimes these additions are the types of small tweaks that can push a contender over the edge. As it stands, the Jets enter their showdown against the Canes with the sixth-highest Cup chances, at 8.7%.
Carolina has made two trips to the Cup Final: a loss to the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 and a win over the Edmonton Oilers in 2006. The Canes have reached the conference finals three times since (2009, 2019, 2023). Winnipeg has yet to make the Cup Final, and was defeated 4-1 in the 2018 Western Conference finals by the Vegas Golden Knights in the club’s lone trip to the penultimate stage.
Both clubs are due. Will this be their year?
There is a lot of runway left until the final day of the season on April 17, and we’ll help you keep track of it all here on the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide detail on all the playoff races — along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 43 Regulation wins: 12 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 17 Points pace: 54.3 Next game: vs. NSH (Tuesday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 8
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the draw for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process can be found here. Sitting No. 1 on the draft board for this summer is Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters.
Hintz extended his stick toward Henrique, whose wrist shot sent the puck under Hintz’s visor during his club’s 5-4 loss to the Oilers. He was on the ice, with his face in a towel, as the team’s medical staff assessed him and helped him skate toward the dressing room.
After the loss, Dallas coach Peter DeBoer said Hintz was at a local hospital, receiving tests. The coach added that the initial report was fairly optimistic for Hintz, 28, who has 25 goals and 52 points.
“Everyone’s optimistic that it’s not ‘serious, serious,'” DeBoer said. “But we won’t know until we get testing.”
The short-handed Stars rallied from a 5-1 deficit before eventually losing. Trade deadline acquisition Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist in his debut for Dallas, which had its four-game winning streak stopped. Wyatt Johnston, Jamie Benn and Matt Dumba also scored for the Stars.