Cardinals Analyst Lists Two Key Trade Candidates As Rebuild Begins

Things are going to look different for the Cardinals next year.

Apr 15, 2019; Milwaukee, WI, USA; A cap rests on the dug out wall with the number 42 on the hat in honor of Major League Baseball s Jackie Robinson Day. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals are in a transition phase. They are out of postseason contention and will likely miss the playoffs for the third straight year. The immediate future doesn't look too bright, even with Chaim Bloom taking over for John Mozeliak as president of baseball operations. They may look to make some trades this coming offseason.

The Cardinals are short on pitching and right-handed bats and overloaded with catchers and left-handed bats. Bloom is going to have to find a way to clear out the logjams created by Mozeliak over the past several years, and that would be a good place for him to start.

Brandon Kiley of 101ESPN proposed the idea of trading players such as Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan while holding onto Nolan Gorman for the 2026 season.

Cardinals Analyst Proposes Trade Ideas For Pair Of Left-Handed Bats

Aug 12, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) dives and catches a line drive hit by Colorado Rockies center fielder Brenton Doyle (not pictured) during the seventh inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

"They would make a ton of sense for a contender setting the table for Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, or setting the table for Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, setting the table for Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani," Kiley said. "Those guys make more sense in those kinds of lineups than what they would potentially here in St. Louis next year. I don't love what I'm saying here. I am a huge Brendan Donovan fan. But to me, where things stand today, I think that the way that the Cardinals should be operating right now is with the assumption Gorman actually might have played his way into our lineup in 2026 because of what he brings to the table.

Gorman possesses power from the left side of the plate and can play second base and third base. When he's right, he can be one of St. Louis' top run producers. But Donovan and Nootbaar both have solid value that other contending teams might be interested in.

And so, the Cardinals could trade those pieces away to fill needs for 2026 and beyond and potentially replenish their stock of players in an area that is currently a weakness.

For St. Louis, pitching is in short supply, and so are right-handed bats, so the time has come to pivot away from some of their logjams and clear them out to set their rebuild in motion.

We'll see if Donovan and Nootbaar are ultimately on the roster for the Cardinals in 2026.

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