Trade Deadline Day Follows Cardinals Into Yankee Stadium
THE CARDINAL CHRONICLE
Game Day Preview: Trade Deadline Day Follows Cardinals Into Yankee Stadium
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
The St. Louis Cardinals open a three-game series against the New York Yankees tonight at Yankee Stadium, but the first significant deadline of the day will arrive before either starting pitcher throws a pitch.
Major League Baseball’s trade deadline is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.
First pitch in the Bronx follows at 6:05 p.m.
By the time the Cardinals take the field, their roster could look different.
Right-hander Michael McGreevy is scheduled to start for St. Louis against Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler. The game will be televised on Cardinals.TV and YES and carried on KMOX and the Cardinals Radio Network.
St. Louis Cardinals: RHP Michael McGreevy, 4-9, 3.57 ERA, 76 strikeouts
New York Yankees: RHP Cam Schlittler, 10-6, 2.04 ERA, 165 strikeouts
The Cardinals enter at 55-57 after avoiding a sweep Sunday with a 5-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
New York is 63-49 after defeating the Chicago Cubs 2-1 Sunday at Wrigley Field. The Yankees return home following a 10-game road trip and remain firmly positioned in the American League postseason field.
The Cardinals remain close enough to the final National League Wild Card to keep the postseason conversation alive, but not close enough to pretend the past several weeks have gone well.
St. Louis is four games behind Arizona and Philadelphia, which are tied for the final Wild Card position. San Diego and several other clubs remain between the Cardinals and that spot.
Sunday’s victory offered some relief.
Matthew Liberatore delivered six scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and one walk while striking out seven. He attacked the strike zone, avoided the damaging inning that has troubled him throughout the season and struck out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. three times.
The offense finally rewarded its starter in the ninth.
Masyn Winn opened the inning with a walk, Bryan Torres followed with a single and José Fermín delivered the go-ahead hit. Jordan Walker later added a two-run single as the Cardinals scored four times and turned a 1-1 game into a 5-1 victory.
That rally did not erase the first two games of the series.
The Cardinals still lost two of three in Toronto. They still struggled with runners in scoring position for most of the weekend, and they still return to the United States two games below .500.
But Sunday provided a useful blueprint for moving forward.
The starting pitcher controlled the game as it has in most the games after the All-Star break.
The offense remained patient in a close contest and when Toronto finally made a mistake, the Cardinals cashed it in.
That is what good teams do.
The question is whether St. Louis can repeat it against a considerably stronger opponent.
McGreevy will make his first start since the worst outing of his Major League career.
Chicago scored seven runs on eight hits against him before he could complete the second inning Tuesday at Busch Stadium. The Cubs attacked pitches in the middle of the plate, created immediate traffic and never allowed McGreevy to establish his usual rhythm.
One poor start should not erase everything that came before it.
McGreevy carried an ERA near 3.00 for most of the season and regularly worked into the sixth or seventh inning. He has done it without overpowering velocity, relying instead on command, movement, changing speeds and forcing hitters to put the ball in play on his terms.
That approach has worked often enough to establish him as one of the more dependable young pitchers on the staff.
Now he must respond to the challenge in front of him tonight.
Yankee Stadium is not the place to live in the middle of the strike zone. The short porch in right field can turn an ordinary fly ball into a home run, and New York’s lineup contains enough power to punish nearly any mistake.
McGreevy cannot pitch afraid of the ballpark. Nibbling around the edges and falling behind hitters would create a different kind of danger. New York is patient enough to accept walks and powerful enough to make a pitcher pay when he is forced back into the strike zone.
McGreevy must trust his preparation.
Get ahead.
Change speeds.
Keep the baseball on the ground.
Force the Yankees to put together several quality at-bats rather than giving them immediate baserunners or one mistake they can drive into the seats.
Aaron Judge remains the hitter around whom every game plan begins.
His presence changes the way opposing pitchers navigate the entire lineup. Walking the hitter in front of him can become a two-run mistake before Judge even steps into the box. Pitching around Judge carelessly can create traffic for the hitters behind him.
There is no perfect solution.
McGreevy must avoid falling into predictable patterns and trust his ability to locate on both sides of the plate.
Ben Rice has emerged as another dangerous left-handed power bat, while Jazz Chisholm Jr., José Caballero and the rest of the lineup give New York a combination of power, speed and aggressiveness.
Paul Goldschmidt also provides a familiar face.
The former Cardinals first baseman returned to New York on a one-year contract and remains capable of punishing pitchers who leave fastballs over the plate. His presence at Yankee Stadium serves as another reminder of how quickly rosters and organizational directions can change.
New York may also introduce its latest addition tonight.
The Yankees acquired left-handed-hitting infielder Luis García Jr. from Washington in exchange for four pitchers. New York had been searching for additional offense and acted before the final day of the deadline, while continuing to explore further improvements.
The contrast is difficult to miss.
The Yankees are operating like a club expecting to reach October.
The Cardinals are still deciding which players should remain for the rest of August.
Dustin May could be moved after giving St. Louis five scoreless innings against the Cubs in what may have been his final appearance with the organization.
Lars Nootbaar has drawn trade interest and remains a logical candidate if another club is willing to offer young talent that fits Chaim Bloom’s long-term plan.
Ryne Stanek and other relievers could appeal to contenders searching for bullpen help.
The Cardinals have also been fielding questions involving their catching situation, although the Yankees’ acquisition of García appears to have shifted at least part of New York’s attention elsewhere.
The deadline creates uncertainty for everyone in the clubhouse.
A player could take batting practice with the Cardinals and be traded before the lineup card is exchanged.
A reliever could arrive at Yankee Stadium expecting to pitch and spend the evening traveling to another city.
A veteran could look around the clubhouse and wonder whether these are his final hours with teammates he has known for years.
None of that changes McGreevy’s responsibility.
He has a game to pitch.
The Cardinals have a game to win.
The front office can handle the trade calls.
The players must handle Schlittler.
That may be the more difficult assignment.
The 25-year-old right-hander has developed into one of the best pitchers in the American League. He enters with a 2.04 ERA and 165 strikeouts and has established himself as a legitimate Cy Young Award contender.
His latest start was another dominant performance, a two-hit gem in Chicago in which he struck out eight. Schlittler has combined premium velocity with improved command, allowing him to attack hitters rather than simply trying to overpower them.
The Cardinals cannot wait for him to become uncomfortable on his own.
Schlittler throws too many strikes and misses too many bats to assume his pitch count will rise without the lineup forcing the issue.
St. Louis must have a clear plan.
His fastball can beat hitters at the top of the strike zone, especially when they are late getting started. His secondary pitches become more dangerous once hitters begin cheating toward velocity.
The Cardinals must be prepared for the fastball without expanding against breaking pitches outside the zone.
That balance is easier to describe than execute.
Schlittler has spent the season making Major League hitters look uncomfortable. He can dominate a lineup when opponents become defensive and allow him to dictate every at-bat.
The Cardinals need traffic before the middle of the order.
Wetherholt must reach base and create pressure.
Walker and Alec Burleson need opportunities with runners aboard.
Iván Herrera must continue providing disciplined at-bats, while Nootbaar, Winn, Blaze Jordan, Nathan Church and the bottom of the order must avoid giving Schlittler quick innings.
Walker continues to be the Cardinals’ most dangerous power hitter.
His two-run single Sunday helped put the Toronto game away, and his ability to drive the baseball to right-center field should play well at Yankee Stadium.
The Cardinals should not ask him to manufacture home runs.
The ballpark already rewards well-struck fly balls. Walker’s job is to remain through the middle of the field and avoid becoming pull-conscious simply because the right-field wall appears inviting.
That temptation has trapped plenty of visiting hitters.
Trying to lift every pitch into the short porch often produces weak ground balls, popups and strikeouts.
The Cardinals need quality contact more than they need hitters swinging for the architecture.
Burleson may be especially important against Schlittler.
He has been one of the club’s most consistent hitters and rarely appears overwhelmed by velocity. His ability to shorten his swing with two strikes and use the opposite field gives St. Louis a chance to create something even when Schlittler is executing.
Herrera’s status will be another storyline throughout the day.
He has been discussed as a potential trade candidate because of the Cardinals’ catching depth and the demand for offense behind the plate. Yet trading one of the club’s better young hitters would create another hole in a lineup already struggling to score consistently.
The Cardinals should not move Herrera merely to clean up a roster logjam.
If another organization wants him, the return must reflect his offensive value, years of control and potential to contribute as a catcher, designated hitter or first baseman.
The same principle applies to Nootbaar.
The deadline is not a clearance sale.
There is value in creating opportunities for younger players such as Joshua Báez, but there is no value in moving a proven Major League player simply because a prospect is ready for a look.
Bloom’s responsibility is to improve the organization.
That could mean making a trade.
It could also mean rejecting one.
Tonight’s game begins after those decisions are complete.
Whatever roster remains must turn its attention toward a Yankees club that has been winning with pitching even when its offense has not been at full strength.
New York’s 2-1 victory Sunday came behind Gerrit Cole and a bullpen that protected a narrow lead. Caballero supplied the decisive two-run home run, while the Yankees completed their road trip by winning another close game.
The Cardinals have lost too many games of that type.
They have received quality starts and failed to score.
They have carried small leads into the late innings and watched them disappear.
They have remained close enough to win while failing to execute the final detail required to finish the job.
Sunday was different.
The Cardinals stayed within one run, waited for an opportunity and delivered four times in the ninth inning.
They need to bring that same patience and urgency to New York.
McGreevy does not need to match Schlittler strikeout for strikeout.
He needs to keep the game manageable.
The defense must protect him, especially on the left side of the infield and in an outfield where the gaps can create extra-base opportunities.
If McGreevy provides six competitive innings, Oliver Marmol must use the bullpen according to the game rather than a collection of predetermined inning labels.
The most important matchup may arrive in the sixth or seventh inning with Judge due to hit and runners aboard.
That is when the best available reliever should pitch.
Waiting for a traditional save situation that may never arrive would serve no purpose.
The Cardinals are not in a position to manage casually.
They are below .500.
They are four games out of a Wild Card position.
They are opening a series against a contender while the front office determines who remains available to finish the season.
Every game carries weight now.
Not because the Cardinals are one loss from elimination, but because their margin for error continues shrinking.
Winning Sunday prevented a sweep.
Winning tonight would begin a difficult series with momentum and demonstrate that the Cardinals can respond against one of the best pitchers in the American League.
Losing would leave them three games below .500 with two more games at Yankee Stadium and fewer excuses available.
Deadline day will dominate the conversation until 5 p.m, after that, the talking stops.
The Cardinals must take the roster they have left and play winning baseball.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
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Photo Credit: Michael McGreevy, St. Louis Cardinals | MLB