At Thursday's press conference to announce his three-year extension as Cardinals general manager, John Mozeliak offered an impromptu admission that made clear his next piece of business:

The club has no idea what's going to happen with Brad Penny.

Thirteen days remain until Major League Baseball's non-waiver trade deadline as the Cardinals seek to fortify a vulnerable starting rotation and a jumbled middle infield. Mozeliak also has noted the need for an "ice breaker" within a "quiet" clubhouse.

Publicly, at least, the Cardinals have yet to prioritize those needs.

Thursday's acknowledgement may have provided some definition.

A strained back muscle that the club originally projected as a two- to three-week condition will have sidelined Penny for two months on Wednesday. Mozeliak acknowledged Thursday it is very possible Kyle Lohse, who required surgery on his right forearm May 28, is likely to return before Penny, who the club maintains does not need surgery.

Penny added a new twist to the saga by saying the injury included connective tissue torn away from bone. The Cardinals neither confirmed nor denied the account, though Mozeliak told WXOS-FM that he did not share "the doom and gloom" offered Friday in a Post-Dispatch account of Penny's condition. (Mozeliak declined to note the report was based on an interview with Penny, who also has requested that Birmingham, Ala., orthopedic Dr. James Andrews review his case.)

Fair to say, Penny will not return to the mound before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Lohse, who threw a bullpen session Saturday, is not expected back until mid-August at the earliest.

It would appear the Cardinals are motivated buyers squeezed by a vise that is equal parts necessity and low leverage.

"I just know they're trying to make something happen," manager Tony La Russa said Friday afternoon.

Before the All-Star break, La Russa described his second-place team as "vulnerable" due to a crush of injuries including Penny, Lohse, third baseman David Freese and right fielder Ryan Ludwick.

Two years ago, La Russa called out ownership and the front office to help an overachieving club. Assistance never arrived, and the Cardinals finished fourth. Ownership was unimpressed by La Russa's public lobbying and conveyed its displeasure.

Five weeks after pitching coach Dave Duncan questioned the organization's pitching depth — and Mozeliak reacted by signing the recently released Jeff Suppan — La Russa on Friday adopted a more measured stance.

"The most important thing for the club to recognize is that the games count and someone is going to get an opportunity," La Russa said. "We've had Albert go on the disabled list (in 2006). You want to respect the guys missing. It's not like it's unimportant. But you can't overdramatize or belabor it because pretty soon the club says, 'How can we win?'"

Of course, the front office asks just such a question at this time of year. The challenge is to mesh the club's financial flexibility with a diminished minor-league system in order to acquire a veteran arm and an impact middle infielder, or vice versa.

"Some of the guys getting opportunities have helped us," La Russa, noting the contributions of rookie outfielder Jon Jay and pitchers Suppan and Blake Hawksworth. "We've just got to keep that up."

The trade market, however, already has opened.

The Texas Rangers landed lefthander Cliff Lee days before the Atlanta Braves dealt talented but mercurial shortstop Yunel Escobar to the Toronto Blue Jays within a five-player trade that brought them veteran shortstop Alex Gonzalez, an intriguing player to the Cardinals as well. The Cardinals also followed Lee but never believed they had the prospects to compete for him.

"How many teams were after Lee, four or five?" La Russa asked rhetorically about the pickup from the Seattle Mariners. "One team got him. That leaves three or four still with a need. The trying is the first key. If you try, you have to have the right combination. If they're trying, that's good enough for me."

La Russa increasingly has shaved playing time allotted Brendan Ryan and Skip Schumaker, the Cardinals' opening-day double play combination. Entering Friday night's game, the Cardinals' second basemen and shortstops had combined for a .236 average, 82 runs, 59 RBIs and 47 extra-base hits in 661 at-bats. A team relatively set at the six other positions is among those interested in Florida Marlins power-hitting second baseman Dan Uggla. Washington Nationals shortstop Cristian Guzman is a pending free agent who is more a run scorer more than a run producer.

La Russa is realistic about Penny's availability. Given the pitcher's time missed, La Russa views his possible return as a bonus.

"He's a big, strong guy who exerts a lot in his delivery," the manager said. "Until he doesn't feel anything, you can't project him to pitch. He's still feeling something, and it's been awhile. When he shut it down, it wasn't like he had been pushed to air it out. That makes you believe it's a very uncertain situation."

The Cardinals peruse a market that features Arizona Diamondbacks ace Dan Haren, Cleveland Indians pitchers Jake Westbrook and Fausto Carmona, the Kansas City Royals' Brian Bannister and the Baltimore Orioles' Jeremy Guthrie. The Houston Astros are accepting bids for Roy Oswalt; however, the Cardinals see Brett Myers as more attainable and perhaps as good a fit for a rotation seeking innings.

Oswalt requires a minimum $18 million investment beyond this season and a higher cost in players. Myers, a potential free agent carrying a $5.1 million contract, has worked at least six innings in each of 19 starts this season.

The Diamondbacks reportedly now seek a confiscatory price of two starting pitchers and a reliever for Haren. The Oakland A's can dangle Ben Sheets, who is on a one-year, $10 million deal.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, seek leverage for any impact trade.

The Redbirds were prepared to make Adam Ottavino available in talks before a labrum tear effectively ended his season. Last year's organization Pitcher of the Year, Lance Lynn, is a pitch-maker bothered by inconsistent command at Triple-A Memphis. The organization's reigning Player of the Year, outfielder Daryl Jones, failed to make the Texas League All-Star Game though seven Springfield teammates were selected. It appears more likely that the Cardinals must deal at least in part from their major-league roster in order to compete for significant pitching or infield help.

Simple needs but complicated stuff.