The St. Louis Cardinals are playing some inspired baseball in the past week. But it may be too little, too late.
Despite winning six of their last nine, including two Nolan Arenado walk-offs, the Cardinals are a game under .500 entering play on Thursday. They sit seven full games out of playoff position, which is an awfully big hole to climb out of at this stage.
After pushing their chips to the center of the table at the trade deadline, the Cardinals have been a disappointment on the whole in August. This recent hot stretch hasn't made up for their sluggish start to the month, and those deadline acquisitions appear to have been in vain at this point.
In fact, one player the Cardinals acquired at the deadline could potentially be on the move again. And it's the player with whom the Cardinals reacquired after he broke in as a rookie in St. Louis more than a decade ago.
36-year-old Tommy Pham, who the Cardinals acquired in a three-team deal from the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline, is at the ring-chasing stage of his career, having never won a World Series in the past. Katie Woo of The Athletic proposed that the Cardinals could waive Pham, allowing him to pursue that elusive championship.
"Pham would presumably garner attention from contending teams if placed on waivers," Woo said. "Multiple teams inquired about him in the days leading up to the trade deadline, with at least two clubs offering full-time roles."
Since coming over to the Cardinals, Pham has sputtered, going 14-for-68 with a pair of home runs. That might mean a playoff team would limit him to a platoon role, but he could always hit his way to more in October. After all, that's how he ended up batting third for the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 World Series.
It wouldn't look great on the surface for the Cardinals to cut a player right after trading for him, but they would really be doing Pham a solid. And if it allows St. Louis to get more youth in the lineup down the stretch, it may just be a win for all parties involved.
Update: Pham was officially placed on waivers Thursday afternoon, according to Woo.
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