At 41-38, the Cardinals are three games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. They rank second in the league with 4.67 runs scored per game, though Albert Pujols will miss all of July with a left forearm fracture. The Cards' starters rank 10th in the league with a 3.90 ERA, while the bullpen is 13th at 4.19. Today's links…
- Adam Wainwright hopes to make the Cardinals' September and playoff rosters this year, to help the team and to force his $9MM option for 2012 and $12MM option for 2013 to vest, he told Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. However, since Wainwright had Tommy John surgery in late February, manager Tony La Russa isn't expecting anything from him this year. I think the Cardinals would prefer Wainwright not to rush, and will happily pick up his options anyway.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears that the Cardinals "are trying to land" Heath Bell and Jason Bartlett of the Padres. In that scenario, Ryan Theriot would have to move to second base. Acquiring Bell and Bartlett at the trade deadline would require taking on about $3.7MM in additional 2011 salaries, plus quality prospects.
- Get your Cardinals MLBTR fix through our team-specific Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages.
