Cardinals Actively Shopping 9-Year MLB Veteran In Trade Talks

The St. Louis Cardinals already have traded two relief pitchers this week and it sounds like they are moving toward making another move.

St. Louis made a great move ahead of the 2025 season. St. Louis signed nine-year big league veteran Phil Maton to a deal just before the start of the season, Maton inked his deal with St. Louis on March 13th and has been lights-out for the Cardinals ever since. In 40 appearances, Maton has logged a 2.35 ERA and a 48-to-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 38 1/3 innings pitched.

Now, it seems like his time with the organization is going to come to an end. Reports have been popping up left and right about the Cardinals' interest in a deal. The Cardinals already traded Ryan Helsley and Steven Matz and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Maton stayed back in St. Louis on Thursday when the club traveled to take on the San Diego Padres and that talks are "ongoing" involving him.

"The Cardinals entered the final day before the trade deadline with ongoing talks to move veteran right-hander Phil Maton, who remained back in St. Louis instead of traveling with the team to San Diego on the charter flight," Goold said. "The Cardinals believe they'll be able trade Maton ahead of the deadline. But the conversations the Cardinals have been having are not limited to the veteran relievers on expiring contracts."

On top of this, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported that the Texas Rangers are pursuing Maton.

"Among the relievers the Rangers are pursuing, according to a source briefed on their discussions: The St. Louis Cardinals’ Phil Maton and Kansas City Royals’ Hunter Harvey," Rosenthal said. "They also like the Pittsburgh Pirates’ David Bednar, but believe the price will be too steep. The Colorado Rockies’ Jake Bird is another possibility."