A year after the St. Louis Cardinals finished dead last in the NL Central, the Redbirds find themselves just 4.5 games back coming out of the All-Star break. As it stands, they are in a position to make it into the postseason via a Wild Card spot.

With the trade deadline looming on July 30, MLB teams have limited time to add players via trades. St. Louis is reported to be interested in upgrading its starting pitching rotation and adding depth, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

One name that Goold says could be of interest is Texas Rangers pitcher Nathan Eovaldi if the Rangers opt to sell. Texas, defending its World Series title, is five games back in the AL West and 7.5 games back from a Wild Card slot.

The Cardinals have had interest in Eovaldi before, as Goold reminded readers Friday. Leading up to the deadline in 2022, Goold reported that Eovaldi was discussed internally by the Cardinals ahead of that year’s deadline. No trade materialized with the Red Sox, who Eovaldi was playing for at the time.

Eovaldi is a veteran starter with a 6-3 record in 16 starts this year and a 2.97 ERA. His WHIP is 1.043 and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is 3.54. Eovaldi is already approaching 100 strikeouts on the year, a mark he’s reached six other times.

He’s gotten better as the year has gone on, too. In three starts in July he has held batters to just a .176 average and three runs with a 1.29 ERA, winning two of those games. As the Cardinals hold onto hopes of competing in the fall, Eovaldi could be a valid piece to add given his hardened experience playing and pitching deep into the postseason. He’s won two titles, pitching in three games (then as a reliever) for the Red Sox and took the mound in two starts for the Rangers title-winning series last season.