As the St. Louis Cardinals ponder their deadline strategy, they must factor in one of the season’s most remarkable developments, knowing it partly explains their unexpected success.The Cardinals have used the injured list only six times. They currently have only one player, infielder Ramón Urías, on the IL. They have yet to lose a starting pitcher to injury. Contrast that with the Chicago Cubs, who currently have 13 pitchers alone on the IL. Or pretty much every other team, almost every one of which has dealt with one injury after another.The Cardinals’ good fortune also includes breakouts from All-Star right fielder Jordan Walker, rookie second baseman J.J. Wetherholt and catcher Iván Herrera.Which is not to say they’re entirely lucky.The Cardinals, in a difficult part of their schedule, have already won road series against the Atlanta Braves and Cubs. They currently hold the third National League wild-card position as they prepare for their final homestand before the break, five games in four days against the Milwaukee Brewers, then three against the Braves.On June 29, 2025, the Cardinals were in the same wild-card position but an even better place in the division, 2 1/2 games out of first place as opposed to their current 7 1/2 games. But they proceeded to lose 17 of their next 25 games, prompting them to unload relievers Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton and Steven Matz at the deadline.It’s conceivable the same type of collapse will occur. The Cardinals’ position-player group is the second-youngest in baseball. Their pitching staff is the fifth-youngest. But if the Cardinals stay relatively healthy and keep playing at a high level, first-year president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom will have little choice but to supplement his roster.Bloom isn’t about to abandon his plan to build a sustainable contender, according to people briefed on his thinking. But he also won’t ignore the opportunity for the Cardinals to return to the postseason for the first time since 2022. The long-term impact of playing meaningful games in September cannot be quantified. But the experience can help lead to future success.The Cardinals are deep in an area where most other teams are not — catching.Herrera (26), Pedro Pagés (27) and Jimmy Crooks, soon to be 25 years old, are in the majors. Rainiel Rodriguez, playing at Double A at 19, is probably untouchable. But the Cardinals have another catching prospect, Leo Bernal, 22, at Triple A. Perhaps Bloom can leverage that relative surplus to address the team’s most pressing need, controllable pitching.Rival clubs also are likely to show interest in right-hander Dustin May, closer Riley O’Brien, left-handed reliever JoJo Romero and outfielder Lars Nootbaar. All are vital to the success of the 2026 Cardinals. But Bloom at least holds the option of maneuvering creatively and turning one or more of them into pieces for now and the future.Superior health helped the Cardinals reach this point. So did quality performance. The next month will determine their next steps.How Cubs’ Swanson turned it aroundMajor-league teams carry multiple hitting and pitching coaches to handle the additional preparation necessary in baseball’s age of information. The different voices enable players to seek different perspectives, as Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson did in mid-June when he went to assistant hitting coach John Mallee in something of a desperate state.Swanson, 32, praised the consistency of Dustin Kelly, the Cubs’ lead hitting coach, saying, “Our team is so stable in general because he’s Steady Eddie.” But as the 11-year veteran sank to a .175 batting average and .587 OPS, he wanted a fresh perspective.“I’m my own worst enemy at times,” Swanson said. “Someone said to me that I’m a great player and a great coach and helper for other people. But I’m a really bad coach for myself.“I basically just had those honest conversations with some folks on staff: ‘I legitimately need help. I know I can do it. I just need actual guidance.’ Most pros are pretty self-sustainable. But we still love being coached. Because we always feel like we can continue to get better.”Before Dansby Swanson went on a tear, he was stuck in a hitting slump. (Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)The Cubs employ three hitting coaches — Kelly, Mallee and Juan Cabreja — plus an analytically oriented staffer, assistant director of major-league development Ben Martin, who is assigned to position players.Kelly said he had no problem with Swanson going to Mallee, who also works closely with All-Star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. The way Kelly describes it, a coach can tell a player the same thing over and over, but sometimes it only clicks after the player hears it from someone else.Swanson told Mallee, “Whatever you think I need to be doing, I’m in.” The two got to work, trying to bring Swanson back to the place he was at the start of the season, when he talked about being more athletic in the box and less worried about mechanics.