With Spring Training on the horizon, Chaim Bloom and the St. Louis Cardinals finally moved Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners in a three-way trade that yielded some prospects and cleared the way for Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker to prove their worth in 2026, and cleared a spot for J.J. Wetherholt to make the show as well.

The Cardinals traded Donovan and received a bundle of five assets for their rebuild: 3 prospects drafted in the 1st-2nd rounds, plus two draft picks that give St. Louis 6 of the first 86 selections in the 2026 MLB Draft. The prospects are Jurrangelo Cijntje, a hard-throwing pitcher who needs work in the minors and to stop with the whole switch-pitcher thing, and outfielders Tai Peete and Colton Ledbetter, who, as I understand it, are still learning how to hit professional pitching.

I guess that’s a good return for two years of Donovan, who was an All-Star, but not really a star. I’m also guessing this completes the offseason moves with Donovan, Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado, and Willson Contreras all traded.

Bloom has lessened the payroll and broken up the infield logjam. The only players on the Cardinals now making 5 million plus in 2026 are pitcher Dustin May ($12 million) and outfielder Lars Nootbaar ($5.35 million). May is on a one-year deal with a mutual option, while Nootbaar has two years of team control. Both are trade candidates if they’re playing well in July and the Cardinals are out of the playoff picture (and they will be, and they will be traded, zero doubt).

The tank-and-rebuild process grinds on as the Cardinals continue to look toward 2028, because it ain’t happening this year or even the following year. Plus, the strike is coming…