Cardinals remain popular contact as interest remains in top trade targets

The St. Louis Cardinals have had to make a couple of roster decisions to this point and enter the Winter Meetings with three spots open on the 40-man roster. After roster protections and non-tenders, the Cardinals now turn their attention back to opposing teams as rival GMs continue to call Chaim Bloom about his major league assets.

Chaim Bloom confirms heavy interest in Cardinals trade assets from teams around the MLB

In the middle of his first offseason as the new President of Baseball Operations, Chaim Bloom sat down with Tamar Sher of KMOV on Sunday night. In a clip Sher shared on Twitter, Bloom noted that there is a lot of interest in current Cardinals players as fans remain in the "honeymoon phase" of their new decision-maker. Without naming these players specifically, the St. Louis faithful know that at least one of the oft-mentioned players is franchise favorite Brendan Donovan. Fans seem split on their desire to see Donovan change teams, but regardless of their feelings, it appears that Donnie is more likely than not going to be playing elsewhere in 2026.

Donovan has been connected with at least three teams specifically, but it has been reported that half of the league or more could be trying to pry the utilityman from St. Louis. The offseason has been slow so far, and Donovan could be one of the first dominoes to fall that set the transaction train in motion. He is not the typical star that could move the market, but with his ability to fit on virtually any team, the price could be driven up as suitors continue to emerge.

Besides Donovan, the Cardinals are open to trading Sonny Gray and Nolan Arenado, who each have a no-trade clause but seem to have one foot out to the door once a contender meets the Cardinals' asking price. Outside of those pricey veterans, the Cardinals have a collection of controllable lefty bats in Lars Nootbaar, Nolan Gorman, and Alec Burleson. With Nootbaar experiencing yet another injury setback, Gorman able to fill in around the infield and Burleson coming off a Silver Slugger award, it is anyone's guess who, if anyone, from those three gets dealt before Spring Training.

With consistent amount of interest in various pieces of their roster, the St. Louis Cardinals appear to be in the driver's seat when it comes to finding their ideal trade partner. Especially with Brendan Donovan, Chaim Bloom may have a handful of prospect packages to choose from as he looks to push the organization into a quick and efficient rebuild. The current hole in the organization looks to be upper-level starting pitching, so that should be an expected return for the Cardinals when they finally make an agreement.