The Cardinals are treading the trade waters looking for a reliever, and have their sights set on Diamondbacks' Chad Qualls and A's reliever Russ Springer.

Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch spoke with GM John Mozeliak who said, "We're still going to explore some stuff, but right now there is nothing jumping out at us."

The Cardinals, as a bullpen, have a 3.80 ERA on the season. Springer has been tearing it up for the past two months, surrendering 3 earned runs in 17.1 innings. Springer, a former Cardinal, is familiar enough with the NL Central that he could make a smooth transition and have an immediate impact on the teams success. The A's wanted a second minor league pitcher in the Holliday trade for Springer as well, but the Cardinals wouldn't budge.

Adding Springer, who historically has been much more effective in the second half of the season, would have a huge impact on the NL Central race.