The St. Louis Cardinals entered Wednesday's series finale against the Los Angeles Angels having lost four games in a row and fallen out of the third National League wild card spot. Many around the industry expected them to be buyers at the trade deadline as they continued to win games and defy the odds.However, things have changed for St. Louis. They're starting to play to their potential, and not in a good way. They were meant to be rebuilding this year anyway after making several offseason trades.But Tim Britton and Chad Jennings of The Athletic believe the writing is on the wall for St. Louis and that they are "clearly trending to the sell side.""The Cardinals are the ones basically in the middle. They were trending heavily to the buy side for much of the season, but they’ve been bad enough in July to wonder if threading the needle might be their best-case scenario. (Though their most obvious trade chip, Dustin May, is also trending the wrong direction, and if they try to buy and sell, they’d most want to buy a starting pitcher.)"Cardinals trending downwards in JulyJul 20, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Riley O'Brien (61) throws in the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectThe Cardinals could potentially try to buy and sell at the same time, but if they do any buying, it doesn't make sense to pursue any rentals, and it would be best for them to focus on adding somebody that can help them beyond 2026.Their rental trade chips likely aren't going to bring back much in return, though a lot depends on how May pitches in his next few starts. Riley O'Brien might be their best trade chip at this point, even though he hasn't quite been the same since the end of April.He is under contract for three more years not counting 2026, and he is near the top of the National League in saves, so there is some real value there. But it will be interesting to see how Chaim Bloom goes about navigating this year's deadline.The Cardinals are seemingly headed towards their third sale in the last four years, so there is a lot at stake here.The Cardinals could use some more starting pitching depth, and the best way to get that could be by trading O'Brien with his years of control remaining. The rental options likely will not get them much in return at this point, with most of them struggling this season. so we'll see what they decide to do.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow