Eve of trade deadline: What to watch with the St. Louis Cardinals

ST. LOUIS - Time is ticking on the MLB trade deadline. Less than 48 hours remain for the St. Louis Cardinals to complete any midseason trades for the rest of the 2024 campaign.

What's in store for the Cardinals on the day before deadline? It's hard to know for certain, given the increased competition in the National League postseason push and that the Cardinals have sputtered around .500 for most of July. However, various reports provide insight of what could transpire.

Tommy Edman

Perhaps the biggest storyline heading into the day is the future of Tommy Edman. The superutility has missed the entire MLB season to this point due to prolonged injuries, first sidelined from wrist surgery and more recently a sprained ankle. Edman has played eight games with Double-A Springfield on a rehab assignment this month, but only designated hitter to this point. Edman still needs to work on his fielding before a possible MLB return, so that could still be a few weeks away.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals have stayed afloat in or near the playoff picture without the versatile Edman, using Brendan Donovan in more of his superutility role and finding rhythm with Masyn Winn and Nolan Gorman at middle infield, Edman's two normal positions. In the case of his return, there could be a big-league roster logjam, and that...