3-team blockbuster clears the path for Cardinals to trade Brendan Donovan for a haul

The Major League Baseball hot stove is on fire right now! Multiple deals have gone down on Friday thus far, and Chaim Bloom's former team, the Tampa Bay Rays, is executing multiple blockbuster moves that clear the path for a Brendan Donovan trade to happen at any moment.

Simultaneously, the Rays are also finalizing a deal to send right-handed starter Shane Baz to the Baltimore Orioles, and it is believed that the Rays will then turn around and finalize a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks for second baseman Ketel Marte. What a day this has been so far!

So, what exactly does this have to do with the St. Louis Cardinals? Everything.

The Rays' three-team blockbuster deal and subsequent moves are clearing the path for the Cardinals to trade Brendan Donovan for a haul.

Assuming the Rays pull all of this off, the two biggest names outside of Donovan in the second baseman market will be off the board, leaving Donovan as the clear number-one option for teams looking to add a dynamic bat to their lineup with versatility to play multiple positions.

As of late, the Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Guardians, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Kansas City Royals have all been reported to have heavy interest in acquiring Donovan, and there are likely even more teams than that who would be interested in his services. While there have been some rumors that the Cubs and Yankees could shop Nico Hoerner and Jazz Chisholm Jr., Donovan is still clearly the best second baseman available on this market if Marte is moved, and there are still many suitors waiting to get their guy.

Chaim Bloom has been rumored to be holding a high asking price for Donovan and has been unwilling to budge from that. I 100% agree with what Bloom is doing here. The Cardinals hold the leverage here, not other teams. They do not have to trade Donovan, and if the offers aren't up to par with what the Cardinals want, then they won't move him. If Bloom stays true to his word on that, then any team that wants Donovan is going to have to pay a high price to do so, and that is essential for the Cardinals as they embark on this rebuild.