Cardinals Firesale? Phillies, Astros Targeting Unexpected Trio

The St. Louis Cardinals made it clear on Wednesday that they are open for business and willing to make a deal.

In fact, the Cardinals made two separate trades. St. Louis sent Ryan Helsley to the New York Mets and Steven Matz to the Boston Red Sox. These two seemed like the Cardinals' most likely players to go ahead of the deadline along with Phil Maton. As of writing, Maton hasn't been moved yet, but don't be shocked if he does before the trade deadline on Thursday night.

Beyond these three, USA Today Sports' Bob Nightengale reported that the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies reportedly have interest in Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, and Brendan Donovan.

"The St. Louis Cardinals, who are wide open for business, have several teams_including the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies expressing interest in the likes of Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson and Brendan Donovan," Nightengale said.

As of writing, it's unclear if the Cardinals are fully turning toward a full-blown firesale, or just trading away veterans on expiring deals. Both Helsley and Matz are going to be free agents after the season. If the Cardinals were to trade a controllable piece, like Donovan for example, away that would be completely different.

After the season, Chaim Bloom is taking over as the team's president of baseball operations so there will be changes no matter what, but now it's a matter of seeing if St. Louis is fully tearing things down.