Dodgers may be Cardinals' best trade partner as deadline approaches

St. Louis Cardinals On SI · Jul 20, 2026 18:00 · 2 min read

Dodgers May Be Cardinals' Best Trade Partner as Deadline Approaches — Jun 16, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers hat glove and sunglasses in the dugout against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fourth inning at PNC Park. The Pittsburgh Pirates won 6-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers could be logical trade partners in the coming weeks.

The St. Louis Cardinals seem to be trending towards selling at the trade deadline this summer. That is now exactly two weeks away, and the Cardinals have a lot of players that could be trade candidates.

The market is full of buyers this summer, so with that in mind, the Cardinals may have a lot of leverage in Chaim Bloom's first trade deadline as their president of baseball operations.

Some of their trade chips may not hold much value, but teams could still show interest. Katie Woo of The Athletic recently wrote a piece on the injuries the Los Angeles Dodgers are facing. While she notes that the Dodgers are unlikely to change their strategy too drastically, the injuries they do have actually set them up well to be a good trade partner for the Cardinals.

Dodgers could be perfect Cardinals trade partner

Again, Woo notes that the Dodgers likely aren't going to change their strategy too much, but they are going to be without Shohei Ohtani's arm for a little while. He'll continue to start as the designated hitter, but his knee injury is keeping him from pitching, at least for now.

The Cardinals have a starter that could generate some interest. Right-hander and former Dodger Dustin May is a free agent at the end of the season. If St. Louis sells, May is an obvious trade candidate.

The Dodgers might be in the market for Tarik Skubal, but in the event that they don't want to overpay with prospects for him, this is where May and the Cardinals could come in handy.

May is 5-7 with a 4.78 ERA this year, but he will obviously come at a much cheaper price than somebody like Skubal, so it makes sense for Los Angeles and St. Louis to be trade partners in the next few weeks.

The Cardinals are in a playoff spot right now, but they seem to be trending downwards, so it may not be long before they ultimately decide it's time to sell and focus on the future rather than push the chips for 2026.

In fact, they lost a 7-0 lead on Sunday and ultimately lost their series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, a fellow wild card contender that seems to be heating up and one that has already won the season series with St. Louis this year.

We'll see if the Dodgers ultimately come calling the Cardinals for May or other assets.