We know that the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros talked earlier this offseason about a potential trade that would have sent utility player Brendan Donovan to the Astros. In a three-team deal, Isaac Paredes would have gone to the Boston Red Sox.

Ultimately, the Cardinals traded Donovan to the Seattle Mariners for a prospect-headlined package. 

However, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic wonders if the Cardinals and Astros could reignite talks since the Astros are in need of outfield help, and the Cardinals do have some pieces that could be of interest.

The St. Louis Cardinals have two left-handed hitting outfielders who might interest the Astros, Lars Nootbaar and Alec Burleson. Paredes isn’t a fit for a rebuilding club like St. Louis, so the Astros would need to find a taker elsewhere in a three-team arrangement. That’s the kind of concept (Astros GM Dana) Brown should be revisiting

Now 28 years old, Nootbaar is under team control for two more seasons. A career .242 hitter, he had 13 homers a season ago. 

He certainly might be a desirable trade piece but after double heel surgery in the offseason, the Cardinals are likely best served to see if has a solid first half before potentially moving him. However if the Astros are interested, St. Louis should certainly answer the phone.

A 27-year-old who won the Silver Slugger last season, Burleson has three years of team control left, meaning it would take a haul to get him. The Cardinals have traded away almost everything this offseason, but they have shown no interest in moving Burleson, who could still be here when the team works through its current rebuild.

He hit .290 last season with 18 homers and 69 RBIs.

Create an opening for a prospect. The newest edition of the MLB Pipeline Top 30 came out on Tuesday, and the Cardinals have outfielder Joshua Baez ranked at No. 4. A slugger himself, he's predicted to make his major league debut this season.

If Nootbaar or Burleson weren't in the mix, there would be an opportunity as soon as St. Louis was ready to give it to him.

--The Cardinals extended manager Oliver Marmol on Sunday, giving him a two-year deal with an option for a third year. He's now under contract through 2028 with the option for 2029. Here are the reasons why St. Louis might have done it despite not making the playoffs for each of the last three years. Bloom spoke about Marmol on a recent edition of 'Foul Territory TV.'

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