The St. Louis Cardinals have been able to count on their offense for the entire 2012 season -- they've consistently held rankings in the top-5 overall for runs scored, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage -- but pitching has been a different story. Injuries and uneven performances in the pitching rotation and bullpen have caused some concerns over the course of the year, but the month of July has been a good one for St. Louis pitchers. For that reason, don't expect Cardinals GM John Mozeliak to trade for big name pitchers before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
The ERA of the starting staff is just 2.35 for the month of July and Jaime Garcia is set to return soon, so Mozeliak recently told Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com that the team isn't likely to grab a big pitching name on the trade market:
"Our starters have been great," Mozeliak said last week. "I think clearly it takes a little pressure off, in terms of feeling like we have to do something. If you were to go after a starter, who are you really bouncing out? And how are you improving? That's why I don't think the urgency is quite there for rotational help as maybe it was, say, three or four weeks ago."
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