Cardinals' Phil Maton Linked To Trade To AL Powerhouse

The St. Louis Cardinals are seemingly ready to enter sell mode this year. They've struggled tremendously this month an,d it's caused them to lose momentum and fall behind in the wild card race.

Because of that, players like Phil Maton and Ryan Helsley, both expiring relievers, have found themselves on the trade block.

Redbird Rants' Brendan Strieker recently suggested that the Houston Astros could be one of the best landing spots in a trade involving Maton.

"Their bullpen consists of an elite closer (Josh Hader), a star setup man (Bryan Abreu), a trio of good lefties (Steven Okert, Bryan King, and Bennett Sousa), and one solid right-handed MRP (Shawn Dubin). Dubin has been phenomenal this season, but went down with a forearm strain on June 20th and is still on the IL.

"Phil Maton could slide in perfectly as a middle-relief pitcher and can handle the later innings on days where Hader and/or Abreu are down. Maton had two of his best seasons of his career with the Astros during their World Series run in 2022 and the following year in 2023. All of these reasons create the perfect opportunity for a reunion with one of their most reliable bullpen arms during their World Series run."

The Astros need to add another reliever, and Maton would fit them perfectly. He wouldn't cost as much as a closer like Helsley or Emmanuel Clase, but he would give them quality innings out of the bullpen.

Maton has been good for the Cardinals, but it's a move St. Louis has to make going forward. If it's interested in winning down the line, rebuilding moves like this need to happen, and they need to happen without hesitation.