Cardinals have decisions ahead as they close series with Rockies

The St. Louis Cardinals are in limbo a week before the trade deadline, and the next few days likely will determine their path.

St. Louis has dropped four of five out of the All-Star break, including an 8-4 loss at the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night. The downward spiral has dropped the Cardinals into a tie for third place in the National League Central with the Cincinnati Reds while losing ground in the wild-card race.

They have a chance to make a push before the July 31 trade deadline, starting with the series finale Wednesday in Denver. St. Louis will send Andre Pallante (5-6, 4.71 ERA) to the mound while the Rockies have not announced a starter for the game.

A candidate is Tanner Gordon, who was in the clubhouse before the game Tuesday but has not been officially recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque. Gordon's presence came on the same day German Marquez was diagnosed with right biceps tendinitis. He is likely headed to the injured list.

Gordon has made three starts for the Rockies this season and is 1-2 with a 4.24 ERA. The right-hander has made 11 major league starts and is 1-8 with a 7.19 ERA. He has not opposed St. Louis.

Pallante has faced Colorado six times in his career, including one start, and is 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA in those outings.

Pallante has not been talked about in trade rumors but several other players have been mentioned, including Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras. Team president John Mozeliak said the current stretch, which includes a 4-8 mark to end the first half and losing all three to the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend, has been a factor in his thinking.

"Clearly, the weekend was not what we wanted to see, and now we've got to understand what the future looks like for us," Mozeliak said. "As we reflect on really what's best for the organization, there is the longer view in terms of, ‘Are there decisions that we can make that would better situate the franchise in [2026] and beyond?'

"So, obviously, we have a lot of players that people have interest in, and we have to sort through all that and before we make a determination exactly what this will look like."

The Rockies know their immediate future doesn't include the postseason, but they're trying to get on a roll and avoid setting the record for losses in the modern era. They have won three of five on their six-game homestand and can win their second straight home series after going 0-15 in home series to begin the season.

"The All-Star break has been a reset, kind of allowed us to put the first half behind us," outfielder Mickey Moniak said. "It's something we've been trying to do all year. The All-Star break's a time to get that going."

Moniak has been on a roll since the end of June. He hit his 15th home run on Tuesday to set a career high in long balls, and he has reached base in 15 consecutive games. The former No. 1 overall pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2016 draft has four home runs in July and is batting .438 for the month, raising his season average to .275 from .236.

"I'm just going out there and trusting what I got and trying to compete," Moniak said after the game Tuesday. "Not trying to do too much."

--Field Level Media