Cardinals 'Open' To Moving On From Polarizing Slugger

The St. Louis Cardinals have already traded two relief pitchers away and it sounds like they aren't done yet.

Ryan Helsley and Steven Matz were the first two players traded by the Cardinals ahead of the 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline. The Cardinals currently have a 55-55 record and find themselves in a still unfamiliar position. The last few years haven't gone as planned. In 2023, the Cardinals were one of the most shocking teams in baseball, and not in a good way. The Cardinals won 93 games in 2022 and then 71 in 2023. St. Louis held a firesale that summer that cut ties with guys like Jordan Hicks, Jack Flaherty, and Jordan Montgomery.

Last year, the Cardinals took a step forward, but still missed the playoffs. Around the deadline, the Cardinals added a few depth pieces, but nothing to move the needle.

This year, the Cardinals are selling again. Twice in three years is pretty shocking. That isn't something that has been common in recent memory for St. Louis and there still is a few hours left to go. As the deadline got closer, rumors about trades involving relievers on expiring deals popped up. The Cardinals traded two and reports are out there that the club is at least talking about deals involving Phil Maton, who also is on an expiring deal.

But, it sounds like the Cardinals aren't just considering deals for players heading to free agency. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that St. Louis is "open" to trading Nolan Gorman, at least one team has spoken to St. Louis about Lars Nootbaar, and teams have shown interest in Brendan Donovan.

"In the past few days, the Cardinals had at least one team contact them to explore what a deal for outfielder Lars Nootbaar would look like," Goold said. "And the Cardinals, according to a source, recently told teams that they would be open to discussions about Nolan Gorman and what it would take to get their attention. Multiple teams have contacted the Cardinals with interest in All-Star Brendan Donovan, per sources, but how strong the Cardinals' appetite for such trade is not clear."

It's certainly been an odd few weeks.