Arizona Diamondbacks v St. Louis Cardinals | Dilip Vishwanat/GettyImages

It was shocking to the entire baseball world that superstar third baseman Nolan Arenado started the 2025 season with the St. Louis Cardinals, a team that everyone had expected to clean house and start fresh after consecutive disappointing seasons. But a rebuild that once felt inevitable has now become non-existent after the Cardinals have proven they mean business in the NL Central so far this year.

Entering Monday, the Cardinals were just two games out of first place in the NL Central behind the Chicago Cubs, with a record of 30-23 which is currently good enough to hold down a NL Wild Card spot. With each passing day, it appears St. Louis may actually be in the postseason picture for the long haul — which has shifted their trade deadline plans dramatically.

Instead of being sellers at the deadline, the Cardinals will now be looking for upgrades they may need to make a playoff push. Arenado will no longer be part of those trade talks, but a former top prospect very well might.

Jordan Walker is perfect trade bait for the Cardinals

As good as the Cardinals have been, outfielder Jordan Walker has performed well below expectations once again. The Cardinals were counting on the former No. 4 overall prospect to have a breakout season and show that he could be one of the futures of the franchise.

On the contrary, Walker is hitting just .212 with three homers and 20 RBI. These struggles come after a disappointing 2024 season, so it is not like St. Louis is giving up on Walker based solely on his 44 games this year.

Walker is still young enough and has enough upside that the Cardinals could get the upgrades they need at the deadline by trading him. It is too early to tell exactly what those needs will be, but it can be expected that Walker will be discussed in at least one of the trades St. Louis makes before the deadline.

With a 6-foot-6, 250-pound frame, scouts know that Walker has power; it just has to be found. With his underwhelming performances at the plate over the last two seasons, it is not like St. Louis will be able to get top prospects or household names for him, but there will be a team out there willing to part ways with a piece that can help the Cardinals because they feel Walker’s potential could be reached elsewhere. The question St. Louis will have to answer is whether that trade-off is worth it.