Cardinals Rumors: Jack Flaherty trade to Tampa Bay Rays fell through
The St. Louis Cardinals were trade deadline sellers, with special attention paid to the bullpen. Multiple starting arms were shipped elsewhere, including new Baltimore Orioles righty Jack Flaherty. The Cards received two of the Orioles' top-20 prospects for their troubles and Flaherty joined the pitching staff for the best team in the American League.
Few teams have taken off into the stratosphere quite like Baltimore since Flaherty's arrival. He's hardly the sole reason for the Orioles' success, but his presence in the starting rotation has been a steady salve. It hasn't been a particularly good stretch of games for Flaherty — 1-2 with a 7.16 ERA and 1.663 WHIP in six starts — but he's a proven arm on a staff short in that department. It can only get better from here.
While the Orioles were no doubt keen on getting Flaherty in the locker room, the 27-year-old almost ended up with a different AL East team. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Tampa Bay Rays agreed in principle to a deal for Flaherty in the final hours before the Aug. 1 deadline, but medical concerns not related to Flaherty derailed the agreement. He was sent to Baltimore instead.
As fate would have it, the Orioles and Rays are grappling for position atop the AL East standings. Baltimore has held steady in first place with a 91-53 record, but Tampa is only three games back at 89-57. The Rays have to feel particularly grumpy about the way events unfolded here, but Flaherty's lukewarm performance in recent weeks could make the Tampa front office feel slightly better.
Cardinals Rumors: Willson Contreras appears safe from trade
The Cardinals began the 2023 season with high hopes and an expensive collection of hitters. Willson Contreras has mostly lived up to his end of the bargain — .262/.354/.462 with 19 home runs and 66 RBIs in 479 plate appearances — but as the Cards continue to hurl toward the MLB basement, it's fair to wonder if the 31-year-old backstop is immune to the offseason trade market.
Contreras signed a five-year, $87.5 million contract in the winter that keeps him under team control through at least the 2027 season. St. Louis could reasonably look to pivot away from Contreras' pricey bat in favor of a more robust focus on youth, but that doesn't appear to be the front office's plan at the moment.
According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals are going to dangle Andrew Knizner in trade talks in the early weeks of November. The 28-year-old has impressed in his opportunities this season — .240//.284/.438 with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs in 205 plate appearances — to the point that he is too good to let walk in free agency, but potentially too good to keep tethered behind Contreras as well. The Cardinals also have 23-year-old Ivan Herrera at catcher.
It would appear that, for now, Contreras is going to stick around. The Cardinals signed the three-time All-Star after seven successful seasons with the Chicago Cubs. It has not gone to plan so far, but there's still time on Contreras' contract for the Cardinals to weather the storm and rebuild a decent contender with his bat in the middle of the lineup and his glove behind home plate.
Cardinals Rumors: Adam Wainwright edges closer to 200-win milestone
Adam Wainwright pulled out all the stops for a huge win over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday. It was a fitting night for Wainwright to emerge victorious: the near-anniversary of his MLB debut as a fresh-faced 24-year-old all the way back in 2005. It was the 199th win of Wainwright's career, pushing him to the very precipice of the elusive 200-win milestone.
It has been a rough campaign for the 42-year-old from Brunswick, GA. He is expected to retire at season's end and he's running short on time to accomplish that historic feat. The win on Monday, improbable as it was against a 90-win team, snapped a 10-game losing streak for Waino, who has posted a dreadful 4-11 record on the season. His 7.95 ERA, 1.979 WHIP, and minus-2.3 WAR paint a blunt and depressing picture. The legend isn't going out on the best note.
Still, there's time for Wainwright to salvage the vibes to a certain extent. The Cardinals faithful have stood firmly behind Wainwright for almost two decades. He is beloved and beyond reproach in the hallowed streets of St. Louis, and his 200th win would be met with rapturous celebration in the fanbase.
The Cards have 17 games left on the schedule, which means Waino will only have two or three more starts, max, to accomplish his goal. After Monday's game, he was candid about his rough stretch and the potential of No. 200 with MLB.com's Joe Trezza.
"Today was a big step to getting [to 200]," Wainwright said. "Not much time left. I knew today would be a really important win if I could get it, and luckily we did."
His catcher, Willson Contreras, understands the importance of getting Wainwright across the finish line strong.
"It's really important for all of us. We put pressure on ourselves because we want him to get to 200 wins. … Hopefully, he can get to 200. That would make us proud as teammates."
Wainwright pitched five innings in the win, giving up only two runs despite seven hits and three walks. He still has enough gas in the tank for one more win. Hopefully St. Louis' offense and bullpen can help him when the moment arrives.