Ex-Cardinals Trio Off To Scorching Start With Red Sox, Mets, Rangers

The St. Louis Cardinals traded away three significant players this summer and unsurprisingly all have gotten off to good starts with their respective teams.

St. Louis isn't where it hoped to be after opting against completely blowing up the roster ahead of the 2025 season. The Cardinals tried to trade pieces away, but once no-trade clauses impacted that, St. Louis stayed put. The 2025 season always has been known as president of baseball operations John Mozeliak's final year with the team. Chaim Bloom is taking over the role after the season.

With it being Mozeliak's final season, the club at least attempted to end it on a high note and avoid the full rebuild ahead of it. Early on, this looked like the right call. St. Louis looked like a playoff team and even a threat in the National League Central as recently as June. But, things turned around. There was a time -- for a while -- in which the Chicago Cubs were in first place in the division followed by the Cardinals and then the Brewers in third place. Now, the Brewers are in first place by a wide margin followed by Chicago, then the Cincinnati Reds in third place, and St. Louis in fourth.

Because of this, the Cardinals ended up moving pieces ahead of the trade deadline in Ryan Helsley, Steven Matz, and Phil Maton.

Did Cardinals get enough back ahead of the trade deadline?

Aug 1, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Ryan Helsley (56) follows through on a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Cardinals traded Helsley to the New York Mets, Matz to the Boston Red Sox, and Maton to the Texas Rangers. In return, the Cardinals mainly got a handful of prospects years away from the big leagues, aside from Blaze Jordan from Boston who is right on the doorstep down with Triple-A. Right now, it at least looks like the Cardinals should've asked for more. But, with prospects, we likely won't know the answer for years.

Since the deadline, all three have shined with their new teams. Helsley has made three appearances with the Mets and hasn't allowed an earned run yet while striking out five batters in three innings. He has lowered his season ERA from 3.00 to 2.77.

Matz has pitched in two games for Boston so far and hasn't allowed an earned run as well to go along with two strikeouts in two innings. He has lowered his season ERA to 3.32.

Maton -- like Helsley and Matz -- hasn't allowed an earned run yet for the Rangers across three appearances. Maton also has struck out three batters in three innings to lower his ERA to 2.18.

More MLB: Cardinals Address Elephant In The Room After 2025 Trade Deadline