The real push for the future begins now with no timetable as to how long it will be before the franchise contends again.

A trade of Phil Maton is expected to be the Cardinals' final move of the deadline, meaning St. Louis will hold onto Brendan Donovan, Lars Nootbaar, and others.

The St. Louis Cardinals swung a trio of trades at the trade deadline that brought back some talented prospects in return.

Pregame analysis and predictions of the St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres MLB game to be played on August 2, 2025 on ESPN.

The San Diego Padres took advantage of sloppy defense by Willson Contreras and the St. Louis Cardinals and turned the mistakes into a 4-1 win at Petco Park, Friday. Jake Cronenworth was on first base in the bottom of the fifth inning after a one-out walk.

Padres players paid attention to varying degrees throughout Thursday as A.J. Preller went about one of his more prolific trading benders. Group texts were filled with declarations of excitement and possible scenarios and predictions about what might come next.

The starting pitchers are Randy Vasquez (3-4) for the San Diego Padres, and Michael McGreevy (2-2) for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Padres won their last game against the Mets on Wednesday by a 5-0 score.

Find the latest odds, spread and score prediction for the St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres MLB game on ESPN to be played on August 1, 2025 on ESPN.

With the Cardinals signaling a rebuild by acquiring players still years from the big leagues, third baseman Nolan Arenado recently met with President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak to discuss his future.

Asked directly Thursday night about playing time at third base "for the Nolans," Cardinals said they needed to "find at-bats" for Gorman. The club already did.