Blog

Cardinal Chronicle Could Robbie Ray Fit the Cardinals’ Plans at the Trade Deadline St. Louis, MO By Ray Mileur The St. Louis Cardinals do not need to treat the 2026 trade deadline like a fantasy baseball auction. They do not need to chase the biggest name, empty the upper levels of the farm system, or pretend one July move suddenly turns a flawed roster into a runaway World Series favorite.But if they are still in the postseason hunt by early August, they should be looking for practical help. And Robbie Ray fits that conversation.Ray, the veteran left-hander with the San Francisco Giants, is not the kind of deadline target who would shake the baseball world. He is not a front-line ace at this stage, and nobody should frame him that way. But he is a professional starting pitcher, a former Cy Young Award winner, a 2025 All-Star, and a left-handed arm with enough experience and swing-and-miss history to make sense for a club trying to get through the long haul of a postseason race. MLB has set the 2026 trade deadline for Monday, Aug. 3, at 6 p.m. ET.&nbsp;That is where the Cardinals’ interest would likely begin — not with star power, but with fit.St. Louis entered play Tuesday at 29-23, sitting 2½ games behind Milwaukee in the National League Central and just a half-game out in the wild-card picture. That is not a team that should be stripping parts off the roster. It is also not a team that should be reckless. It is exactly the kind of club that should be open to adding a rental starter if the price is right.&nbsp;Ray’s current numbers are not clean enough to sell him as a difference-maker. Through 11 starts, he is 3-6 with a 4.60 ERA, 53 strikeouts and a 1.38 WHIP over 58 2/3 innings. His last seven starts have been rougher, with a 5.94 ERA and 1.60 WHIP, and a recent report out of San Francisco noted the Giants believed they had found and corrected a possible pitch-tipping issue after a poor outing against Arizona.&nbsp;That matters. A contender should not ignore red flags just because a player has a résumé. Ray has had command issues. He has been hittable lately. He is 34 years old. He is not the Robbie Ray who won the American League Cy Young Award in 2021.But deadline deals are not always about finding perfection. Sometimes they are about finding usefulness.For the Cardinals, Ray would represent a short-term stabilizer. He gives a rotation another veteran left-handed option. He can take the ball every fifth day. He has handled big innings before. He misses enough bats to remain interesting, and if the pitch-tipping explanation is legitimate, there may be some rebound potential baked into the profile.The contract is the key. Ray is making $25 million in 2026 and is eligible for free agency after the season, making him a true rental. That should keep the prospect cost manageable, especially if the Cardinals are willing to absorb more of the remaining salary.&nbsp;That is the path that makes sense for St. Louis. If the Giants eat significant money, the prospect cost rises. If the Cardinals take on salary, the prospect cost should fall. For a club trying to contend without gutting its future, that distinction matters.The Cardinals should not be shopping from the top shelf unless the standings demand it and the return justifies it. But a veteran rental such as Ray belongs in the middle aisle — the place where smart deadline clubs often find useful help without turning the farm system upside down.There is also the broader National League reality. Milwaukee has created early separation in the division, and the Brewers just showed St. Louis what top-end pitching can look like when Jacob Misiorowski overpowered the Cardinals on Memorial Day. St. Louis does not need to match Milwaukee arm-for-arm, but it cannot ignore rotation depth if October remains within reach.&nbsp;Ray would not solve every problem. He would not erase offensive inconsistency. He would not guarantee a postseason berth. He would not suddenly make the Cardinals the favorite in the National League.But he could help.And in this new postseason era, helping matters. Forty percent of Major League Baseball makes the playoffs now. Once a club gets in, the tournament can change quickly. The Cardinals know better than most that October opportunities are precious. Eleven World Series championships in 145 years is a proud history, but it is also a reminder that even great franchises do not get these chances every season.So yes, if the Cardinals are still standing near the playoff line in late July, Robbie Ray should be on the board.Not as a savior.Not as a headline grab.But as a practical, veteran, left-handed rental starter who might help St. Louis make one more push — if the money works, if the prospect cost stays light, and if the Cardinals are serious about making this season count.Old School Take The Cardinals should not chase names. They should chase usefulness. Robbie Ray is not the pitcher you build a deadline around, but he may be the kind of pitcher who helps you survive one.&nbsp; The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports

Could Robbie Ray Fit the Cardinals’ Plans at the Trade Deadline?

Cardinal Chronicle Cardinals Look to Avoid Milwaukee Sweep Before Long Homestand St. Louis, MO By Ray MileurThe St. Louis Cardinals have one more afternoon in Milwaukee, and they need to make it count.After dropping the first two games of their three-game series against the Brewers, the Cardinals enter Wednesday’s finale at American Family Field looking to avoid a sweep, settle themselves after a frustrating road trip, and head home with something more than two quiet losses and a few bruised feelings.St. Louis is 29-24 overall and 1-3 on the current road trip after splitting two games in Cincinnati around a rainout before losing the first two in Milwaukee. The Cardinals will fly home after Wednesday’s game, enjoy an open date Thursday, then begin their longest homestand of the first half Friday night against the Chicago Cubs. Texas and Cincinnati will follow at Busch Stadium.Wednesday’s matchup is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. CT, with right-hander Dustin May getting the start for St. Louis. The Brewers had not listed a probable starter in the Cardinals’ game notes. May enters at 3-5 with a 5.00 ERA and will be making his 11th start as a Cardinal.The standings add plenty of weight to the afternoon. Milwaukee enters at 32-20 and leads the National League Central by 3 1/2 games over St. Louis. The Cardinals remain in second place and are 16-11 on the road, including 5-3 against NL Central opponents.There is also a little history hanging over this one. St. Louis is trying to avoid its first three-game sweep in Milwaukee since June 2011. That season, of course, the Cardinals later beat the NL Central champion Brewers in the NLCS on the way to their 11th World Championship. Since American Family Field opened in 2001, the Cardinals have been swept in Milwaukee only twice.The Cardinals have been in this position before this season. Only twice have they lost the first two games of a series. The first came in Detroit from April 3-5, when they salvaged the finale with a 5-3 win on Sunday Night Baseball. The second came against Seattle at Busch Stadium. Wednesday gives them another chance to avoid letting a bad series become a full-blown sweep.For May, the setting carries its own storyline.The 28-year-old right-hander returns to the ballpark where he suffered the first major injury of his career. On May 1, 2021, while pitching for the Dodgers, May exited after 1 2/3 innings at American Family Field and later required season-ending right elbow surgery. Wednesday will mark his first appearance against the Brewers and his first outing in Milwaukee since that day.May’s season has been uneven on the surface, but there is more to the line than the ERA. He has six quality starts in 10 outings, tied for 10th in the National League, and he has pitched into the sixth inning in each of his last eight starts while allowing three runs or fewer in that span. He also has received one run of support or fewer in four of his last five starts, with only five total runs of support during that stretch.That last number may be the biggest issue for the Cardinals on Wednesday. The offense has gone cold at the wrong time. Milwaukee took the opener 5-1 behind Jacob Misiorowski, then shut out St. Louis 6-0 on Tuesday behind Kyle Harrison. The Cardinals have scored one run in two games in the series, and no pitching plan works for long when the bats are that quiet.The formula is not complicated. St. Louis needs early traffic, better situational hitting and something from the middle of the order. The Cardinals are 24-5 when scoring four or more runs this season, but just 2-15 when scoring two runs or fewer. That tells the story plainly enough. When this lineup gets the game into a real baseball fight, St. Louis usually has enough pitching and bullpen depth to finish it. When the offense disappears, the margin vanishes with it.The bullpen should be available if May can hand the game over with a lead or within reach. Four key Cardinals relievers — Riley O’Brien, JoJo Romero, George Soriano and Ryne Stanek — have pitched only once over the last seven days. All four last worked in Saturday’s doubleheader after previously pitching the Tuesday before against Pittsburgh.Behind the plate, Pedro Pagés remains one of the Cardinals’ bright spots. He enters Wednesday with a Major League-best 12 caught stealings and set a career high Monday by throwing out two Brewers attempting to steal.The Cardinals also received another encouraging rehab note from Lars Nootbaar, who continued his minor league assignment Tuesday night with Double-A Springfield. Nootbaar went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI while playing eight innings in left field. Across seven rehab games with Palm Beach, Springfield and Memphis, he is batting .316 with two home runs, four RBIs, two walks and three strikeouts.But Wednesday is not about rehab updates, historical footnotes or what comes next at Busch Stadium.It is about Milwaukee.The Brewers have already won the series. They have already pushed the Cardinals around for two nights. They have already widened the division gap. Now the Cardinals have one afternoon left to take the broom out of Milwaukee’s hands and remind the Brewers that this Central race is not going to be handed to anybody in May.A win would not erase the first two games. It would not solve every offensive concern. It would not make the road trip pretty.But it would matter.For a team heading home to face the Cubs, Rangers and Reds, one win in Milwaukee could change the tone of the next week. One clean start from May, one early rally, one late lead turned over to a rested bullpen — that is the assignment.The Cardinals do not need to talk their way out of Milwaukee, they need to fight their way out. Credit: AP - Both benches cleared during the fifth inning of a baseball game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.

Cardinals Look to Avoid Milwaukee Sweep Before Long Homestand

Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day St. Louis, MO By Ray MileurMason Molina Gives Springfield a Strong Arm, Earns Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day HonorsMason Molina gave Springfield exactly what it needed Tuesday night — early control, swing-and-miss stuff and five innings that allowed the Cardinals to play from in front.Molina earned Cardinal Chronicle Pitcher of the Day honors after allowing one run on just one hit over five innings in Springfield’s 8-5 win over Wichita. He struck out eight, tying his season high, and helped set the tone on a night when the Cardinals’ farm system went a perfect 4-0.It was not a spotless outing. The four walks kept Molina from cruising cleanly through the Wind Surge lineup, and his command had a few rough edges. But the stuff was clearly working. Wichita managed only one hit against him, and Molina repeatedly found the pitch he needed when trouble started to build.That is the separator.There are nights when a pitcher dominates because everything is easy. Then there are nights when he has to compete through traffic, manage the strike zone, miss bats and still hand his club a lead. Molina did the latter.Springfield backed him with enough offense, including Noah Mendlinger’s three-hit night, Lars Nootbaar’s RBI double on rehab assignment, Trey Paige’s home run and Zach Levenson’s late three-run shot. But Molina’s five innings gave the Cardinals the foundation for the win.Across the system, Tuesday belonged mostly to the hitters. Memphis scored 19 runs. Peoria homered three times. Palm Beach walked it off. But Molina gave the farm report its top pitching line.Five innings. One hit. One run. Eight strikeouts.That will earn the nod for Pitcher of the Day honors. The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports

Mason Molina Gives Springfield a Strong Arm

Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day St. Louis, MO By Ray MileurJoshua Báez Powers Memphis Rout Earns Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day HonorsJoshua Báez did not just have a good night Tuesday. He had the kind of night that makes a farm report write itself.Báez earned Cardinal Chronicle Player of the Day honors after going 4-for-6 with two home runs, five RBIs and three runs scored in Memphis’ 19-5 win over Omaha. In a game where the Redbirds piled up 21 hits and turned the scoreboard into a pinball machine, Báez still managed to stand out.That is not easy to do on a night like this.Memphis had production all over the lineup. Blaze Jordan had four hits, Ramon Mendoza drove in five, and the Redbirds hit five home runs as a team. But Báez supplied the loudest swings of the night, anchoring the middle of an offensive explosion that helped Memphis improve to 31-21.For Báez, the performance was a reminder of the raw impact he can bring when the bat is right. Four hits, two home runs and five RBIs are not background noise. That is centerpiece production.The Cardinals’ system went a perfect 4-0 Tuesday night, and several hitters had strong cases for recognition. Michael Dattalo delivered a walk-off winner for Palm Beach. Blaze Jordan had a monster night for Memphis. Peoria continued its power surge with three home runs.But Báez’s two-homer, five-RBI night belonged at the top.Memphis had plenty of thunder Tuesday.Joshua Báez brought the lightning. The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports

Joshua Báez Powers Memphis Rout,

Cardinal Chronicle Morning Farm Report St. Louis, MO By Ray MileurCardinals Farm System Sweeps the Night, Going 4-0 Across All Four LevelsThe Cardinals’ farm system put together a clean sweep Tuesday night, and it was not one of those quiet 4-0 evenings either.Memphis buried Omaha under 19 runs and 21 hits. Springfield welcomed Lars Nootbaar to Route 66 Stadium and backed Mason Molina with enough offense to handle Wichita. Peoria kept its winning streak rolling behind three home runs and a rain-shortened road victory. Palm Beach closed the night with the best kind of finish — a walk-off single from Michael Dattalo.For one night, the whole ladder leaned the right way. Memphis Redbirds Record: 31-21, Tied for 1st Place, International League West Memphis 19, Omaha 5Memphis turned Tuesday night into batting practice with consequences, pounding out 21 hits in a 19-5 rout of the Omaha Storm Chasers.Joshua Báez led the charge and earned Player of the Day honors after going 4-for-6 with two home runs, five RBIs and three runs scored. It was the kind of night that jumps off the box score and grabs the headline by the throat.But Báez was hardly alone. Blaze Jordan went 4-for-6 with two doubles, a home run, three RBIs and four runs scored. Ramon Mendoza added a home run and five RBIs. Colton Ledbetter also homered, while Jimmy Crooks doubled and scored twice. Jeremy Rivas, recently promoted from Springfield, went 2-for-5 with two runs scored in the offensive avalanche.The Redbirds scored three in the third, nine in the fourth, three in the eighth and three more in the ninth. That is not scratching out a win. That is backing the truck up and unloading lumber.Hunter Dobbins gave Memphis 4 1/3 innings, allowing one run on six hits while striking out seven. Luis Gastelum followed with 1 2/3 scoreless innings, and the Redbirds’ staff struck out 12 overall.For a club sitting near the top of its division race, this was a reminder that Memphis can overwhelm opponents when the lineup starts rolling from top to bottom. Springfield Cardinals Record: 20-27,&nbsp; 5th Place, 8.5GB, Texas League North Springfield 8, Wichita 5Springfield made it two straight over Wichita, beating the Wind Surge 8-5 on a night that carried a little extra attention because Lars Nootbaar began the Double-A portion of his rehab assignment.Nootbaar went 1-for-4 with an RBI double, and the ball came off his bat at 110.8 mph, a pretty good sign for a big league outfielder working his way back. That will play.Still, Springfield’s win belonged to more than the rehab headline. Mason Molina turned in the top pitching performance in the system, allowing one run on one hit over five innings while striking out eight. He walked four, so it was not spotless, but when a starter gives up one hit and misses that many bats, you take it and move on.Noah Mendlinger helped set the table with a 3-for-4 night, including a double, two runs scored, an RBI and a walk. Dakota Harris reached four times, going 2-for-2 with a double, three runs scored and two walks. Trey Paige homered for the second straight game, and Zach Levenson delivered the big late blow with a pinch-hit three-run homer in the eighth.Springfield built an early lead, added on late and had enough cushion to survive Wichita’s push in the final two innings. For a club trying to climb out of a difficult first half, wins like this matter. They are not pretty postcards, but they are progress. Peoria Chiefs Record: 21-24, 5th Place, 6.5 GB, Midwest League West Peoria 5, Wisconsin 2Peoria stayed hot with a 5-2 rain-shortened win over Wisconsin, extending its winning streak to five games.The Chiefs did it the old-fashioned modern way — with power and pitching.Jesús Báez opened the game with a leadoff home run, giving Peoria a 1-0 lead before Wisconsin had even settled in. José Suárez later delivered the biggest swing of the night, a two-run homer in the fourth, and added another RBI in the fifth. Jalin Flores homered in the sixth to give Peoria its final margin.That made three home runs on the night for the Chiefs and continued one of the best offensive runs this club has put together all season. Peoria has now homered in 11 consecutive games, the longest such streak on record for the Chiefs.Yhoiker Fajardo battled through traffic but kept the game under control, allowing two runs over 4 2/3 innings while striking out seven. Gerardo Salas followed with 1 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out three, and Dominic Freeberger recorded two outs before rain halted the game in the seventh.After a 35-minute delay, the game was called official.Peoria is starting to look like a club with a little bite. Five straight wins, power up and down the lineup, and enough pitching to make it stand — that is how a team starts changing the tone of its season. Palm Beach Cardinals Record: 25-21, 2nd Place, 3.0 GB, Florida State League East Palm Beach 5, Lakeland 4Palm Beach finished the system sweep in walk-off fashion, beating Lakeland 5-4 on Michael Dattalo’s single in the bottom of the ninth.Dattalo was the story from start to finish. He went 4-for-5 with a double and three RBIs, driving in Palm Beach’s first run in the opening inning, adding another RBI hit in the third and then ending the game in the ninth.Ryan Weingartner also had a strong night, going 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and an RBI. His solo shot in the seventh tied the game at 4-4 after Lakeland had taken the lead with a three-run homer in the sixth.Alex Breckheimer gave Palm Beach five solid innings, allowing one run on four hits with three strikeouts. The bullpen had a rough patch in the sixth, but Jovi Gálvez, Dylan Driessen and Jesús García combined to keep Lakeland off the board over the final three innings. García, making his Palm Beach debut, recorded the final two outs and earned his first career Single-A win.Palm Beach had to win this one twice — first by building the lead, then by answering after losing it. That says something about a young club. The Beach Birds did not fold. They kept playing, tied it late and walked it off. Player of the Day Joshua Báez, Memphis RedbirdsJoshua Báez earns Player of the Day honors after going 4-for-6 with two home runs, five RBIs and three runs scored in Memphis’ 19-5 win over Omaha.On a night when the entire system went 4-0 and several hitters had strong cases, Báez stood above the rest. Two home runs, five driven in and four hits in a 21-hit attack is not a footnote. It is the centerpiece.Memphis had plenty of thunder Tuesday night, but Báez supplied the loudest swings. Pitcher of the Day Mason Molina, Springfield CardinalsMason Molina earns Pitcher of the Day honors after allowing one run on one hit over five innings in Springfield’s 8-5 win over Wichita.Molina struck out eight and tied his season high in punchouts. The four walks kept the outing from being truly clean, but the stuff was clearly working. Wichita managed only one hit against him, and he gave Springfield the early control it needed.On a night full of offense across the system, Molina gave the farm report its top pitching line. The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports

Cards Farm System Sweeps the Night

Cardinal Chronicle Uribe’s Gesture Turns Brewers’ Win Into Something Much Bigger St. Louis, MO By Ray MileurMILWAUKEE — The Cardinals were already dealing with enough trouble Tuesday night. Another shutout loss. Another quiet night at the plate. Another division game slipping away in a stretch where St. Louis can ill afford to keep giving ground.Then Abner Uribe turned a 6-0 Brewers victory into something else entirely.Milwaukee’s hard-throwing right-hander struck out Alec Burleson looking to end the eighth inning with two Cardinals aboard. The call was challenged through the automated ball-strike system and upheld. Before the review was even settled, Uribe celebrated, turned toward the Cardinals’ dugout and made multiple lewd gestures in the direction of the visiting club. MLB.com described the gestures as directed toward the visitors’ dugout, and Brewers manager Pat Murphy later called the display “unacceptable.”That should have been the easy part.A player crossed the line. His manager knew it. Murphy did not dress it up, excuse it or hide behind the final score. He said he had already spoken to Uribe and would not be surprised if Major League Baseball took action. That was the proper response from Milwaukee’s manager.But Uribe’s own response is where the story took another turn.Uribe apologized to the Brewers, his teammates, his manager and club officials. He did not apologize to the Cardinals. Instead, he pointed blame toward St. Louis, claiming Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol had made gestures during Monday’s game that Uribe interpreted as signs the Cardinals might throw at Brewers hitters. Uribe also referenced an incident during Tuesday’s practice but declined to explain it. The Cardinals denied the allegations when informed of them after their clubhouse had closed to reporters.That is the part that should not be brushed aside.Baseball has always had room for emotion. It has always had room for hard feelings, stare-downs, inside fastballs and a little old-fashioned dugout barking. Nobody around this game should pretend otherwise. But there is a difference between playing with an edge and turning toward another club’s dugout with a six-run lead to make it personal.Iván Herrera, who had drawn a walk earlier in the inning and was on base when the incident occurred, said Uribe had thrown a high-and-tight fastball near his head before the two exchanged words. Herrera called Uribe’s dugout gesture disrespectful to the entire team and said if Uribe had an issue with him, he had the chance to say it directly.That was the right point.If there is a problem between players, handle it between players. If there is a problem between dugouts, let managers handle it. But making a public show of it toward an entire club, then apologizing to everyone except the team you targeted, leaves the Cardinals with little reason to simply tip their cap and move along.The game itself was bad enough for St. Louis. Kyle Harrison held the Cardinals to four hits over six scoreless innings, extending his shutout streak to 18 innings. The Cardinals finished without an extra-base hit, went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and lost for the fifth time in six games. Michael McGreevy was charged with five runs over four-plus innings, and Milwaukee broke the game open with a five-run fifth.But by the end of the night, the box score was no longer the whole story.The Brewers won the game. Uribe won the inning. Murphy won the postgame by saying plainly what needed to be said.Uribe, however, left the Cardinals without the one thing that should have been offered first: an apology to the team he disrespected.And with another game still to play in Milwaukee, that is not a small detail. Photo Credit: Dairy Land ExpressThe Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.

Uribe’s Gesture Turns Brewers’ Win Into Something Much Bigger

The St. Louis Cardinal Chronicle 

The St. Louis Cardinal Chronicle is dedicated to preserving Cardinals history, covering today’s game, and following the next generation through the minor leagues. Written in the tradition of the old beat writers, it’s baseball with perspective — steady, faithful, and rooted in a lifelong love for the game.

The St. Louis Cardinal Chronicle, Ray Mileur

The Cardinal Notebook

Could Robbie Ray Fit the Cardinals’ Plans at the Trade De...

Cardinals Look to Avoid Milwaukee Sweep Before Long Homes...

Mason Molina Gives Springfield a Strong Arm

Joshua Báez Powers Memphis Rout,

Cards Farm System Sweeps the Night

Uribe’s Gesture Turns Brewers’ Win Into Something Much Bi...