Cardinals Visit Angels as Deadline Drama Follows Them West
THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Series Preview: Cardinals Visit Angels as Deadline Drama Follows Them West
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The St. Louis Cardinals continue their post-All-Star break road trip Monday night, opening a three-game interleague series against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.
This is not merely another stop on the schedule.
The Cardinals will be playing in front of their former president of baseball operations, John Mozeliak, who was appointed the Angels’ interim general manager in late June. Meanwhile, Chaim Bloom — Mozeliak’s former adviser and eventual successor — is directing the Cardinals through his first season as the head of baseball operations in St. Louis.
For the Cardinals, the series is about remaining in the National League postseason race. For Mozeliak and the Angels, it may be about deciding which players will still be wearing an Angels uniform after the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
The Cardinals enter the series at 51-47 and in third place in the National League Central. The Angels are 39-61 and last in the American League West. St. Louis is 25-21 away from Busch Stadium, but the Cardinals have lost six of their last 10 games while batting only .201 during that stretch.
Both teams are attempting to recover from disappointing weekends.
St. Louis lost two of three in Arizona, including Sunday’s crushing 8-7 defeat in 10 innings after building a 7-0 lead. The Angels also dropped two of three at home against Detroit, losing the first two games before avoiding a sweep with a 3-2 victory Sunday.
For a Cardinals club trying to remain within striking distance of October, this is the kind of series it cannot afford to give away.
THE MOZELIAK-BLOOM CONNECTION
Bloom originally joined the Cardinals as an adviser to Mozeliak before working alongside him during the organization’s transition. Bloom officially succeeded Mozeliak after the 2025 season, while Mozeliak appeared headed toward at least a temporary departure from baseball.
That departure did not last long.
The Angels hired Mozeliak as a baseball operations consultant and interim general manager after dismissing Perry Minasian. Mozeliak’s immediate responsibilities include evaluating the organization, overseeing its trade-deadline decisions and assisting in the search for a permanent general manager.
There is no reason to portray Bloom and Mozeliak as rivals. They worked together during the transition in St. Louis, and both understand the direction the Cardinals are attempting to take.
However, their shared history adds another layer to any possible negotiations between the clubs.
Mozeliak knows the Cardinals’ farm system, their young major-league roster and many of the internal evaluations that helped shape the organization. Bloom knows Mozeliak’s tendencies, how he evaluates players and how he approaches the trade market.
That does not guarantee a trade, but it certainly eliminates the need for introductions.
THE TRADE-DEADLINE SUBPLOT
The Angels are expected to sell before the deadline, although the extent of that sale remains uncertain. Starting pitchers José Soriano and Reid Detmers are among the most valuable players who could be made available, and both remain under club control through the 2028 season.
That club control is important.
The Cardinals are not expected to surrender top prospects for short-term rentals, but a controllable starter who could remain in the rotation for multiple seasons would better fit Bloom’s timetable.
Detmers has already been the subject of trade speculation involving the two clubs, and the Cardinals will get an up-close look at the left-hander in Wednesday afternoon’s series finale.
The 26-year-old’s 4.16 ERA does not tell the whole story. Detmers has premium swing-and-miss stuff, including a four-seam fastball, slider, changeup and big-breaking curveball. Earlier this season, he struck out a career-high 14 batters in an eight-inning performance against Texas.
His underlying numbers, strikeout ability and two additional seasons of club control make him one of the more intriguing starting pitchers potentially available. The asking price, however, would not be cheap.
Before the Cardinals can think about whether Detmers might eventually pitch for them, they first have to figure out how to beat him.
MONDAY’S MATCHUP
Monday, July 20 — 9:10 p.m. CT
RHP Kyle Leahy (7-4, 3.73) vs. RHP José Soriano (8-6, 3.49)
ESPN / KMOX
Kyle Leahy gets the assignment in the series opener after spending much of his Cardinals career moving between the rotation and bullpen.
Leahy has become one of the club’s more valuable and flexible pitchers. He will be asked to settle the game early, provide length and prevent another night in which the Cardinals are forced to cover too many innings with the bullpen.
Soriano presents a difficult opening assignment. The right-hander combines premium velocity with a heavy sinker and enters the game with 115 strikeouts. Like Detmers, Soriano has also surfaced as a possible trade candidate because of his performance and remaining club control.
The Cardinals must avoid chasing Soriano’s pitches below the strike zone. Getting the ball in the air and forcing him to work from the stretch will be essential.
TUESDAY’S MATCHUP
Tuesday, July 21 — 8:38 p.m. CT
LHP Matthew Liberatore (5-6, 5.00) vs. RHP Walbert Ureña (5-7, 2.88)
Cards.TV / KMOX
Matthew Liberatore takes the mound in a game the Cardinals may need him to stabilize.
Liberatore has shown the ability to miss bats and dominate when his fastball command and breaking ball are working together. The problem has been maintaining that combination consistently.
The Angels may be buried in the standings, but they are not incapable of punishing mistakes. Nolan Schanuel entered the series leading Los Angeles with a .279 batting average, while Zach Neto remains one of the more dangerous young shortstops in the American League.
Walbert Ureña brings a 2.88 ERA into the matchup. The Cardinals cannot assume Tuesday will be the easiest game simply because Ureña does not carry the name recognition of Soriano or Detmers.
This may be the most important matchup of the series. If the Cardinals can handle Ureña, it would keep them from entering Wednesday needing to beat Detmers to avoid losing the series.
WEDNESDAY’S MATCHUP
Wednesday, July 22 — 3:07 p.m. CT
RHP Michael McGreevy (4-7, 2.92) vs. LHP Reid Detmers (3-6, 4.16)
Cards.TV / KMOX
The series finale offers the best pitching matchup and the most interesting storyline.
Michael McGreevy continues to give St. Louis an opportunity to win nearly every time he takes the mound. His 4-7 record is not an accurate reflection of how well he has pitched. The right-hander enters the game with a 2.92 ERA, relying on command, movement, changing speeds and keeping hitters off balance.
McGreevy may not light up the radar gun, but he knows how to pitch — an increasingly valuable trait in a game obsessed with velocity.
Opposite him will be Detmers, who could be auditioning for interested clubs without officially calling it an audition.
Cardinals hitters will need to control the strike zone and avoid allowing Detmers’ slider and curveball to expand it. His strikeout ability makes it difficult to string together rallies, so St. Louis may need to capitalize on the limited number of scoring opportunities it receives.
Wednesday may also provide Cardinals fans with a glimpse of a pitcher who could remain on the club’s radar during the final two weeks before the deadline.
WHAT THE CARDINALS MUST DO
The first priority is putting Sunday’s collapse in Arizona behind them.
There is no gentle way to describe blowing a seven-run lead. It was a terrible loss, and the Cardinals cannot carry it with them into Anaheim. Baseball does not provide time for extended grieving. There is another game the next night and another series that must be won.
The Cardinals also need more consistent production from their offense. Jordan Walker enters the series leading the club with 22 home runs and a .524 slugging percentage, but St. Louis has scored inconsistently and has been vulnerable when the lineup fails to produce early.
The formula is fairly simple:
Get the starting pitchers through six innings, avoid giving away outs, create traffic ahead of the middle of the order and protect any late lead considerably better than they did Sunday.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The Angels may be 22 games below .500, but the Cardinals should not expect them to roll over. Players on losing clubs understand that scouts, executives and contending teams are watching every game as the deadline approaches.
Still, this is a series St. Louis should win.
Taking two of three should be the minimum expectation. A sweep would go a long way toward repairing the damage from Sunday’s collapse and restoring some momentum before the Cardinals return home.
There will be plenty of familiar faces, trade speculation and front-office intrigue surrounding this series.
But once the first pitch is thrown, none of that matters.
The Cardinals need victories and they need them now.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: John Mozeliak and Chaim Bloom | AP Photo