Earlier this offseason, the St. Louis Cardinals traded All-Star utility player Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners for prospects Jurrangelo Cijntje and Tai Peete, as well as a Comp B draft pick in the 2026 MLB Draft.

The Tampa Bay Rays were involved as well, but the Seattle portion of the trade was the most relevant part to Cardinals fans.

Before the Cardinals traded Donovan to the Mariners, we knew that he was receiving extensive interest from other clubs, including the Boston Red Sox.

However, according to Ken Rosenthal of 'The Athletic,' the Cardinals and Houston Astros were also in extensive talks.

Earlier in the offseason, before the Seattle Mariners acquired utilityman Brendan Donovan, Brown engaged in serious discussions about a deal that would have brought Donovan to Houston and sent (Isaac) Paredes to Boston.

It's unclear how this would have all worked and the Seattle deal seems to have played out very well for St. Louis, as Cijntje is a Top-100 prospect in the sport (per MLB Pipeline). The Astros do not have a well-regarded system and while the Red Sox do, it's unclear if they would have been willing to move top prospects like Payton Tolle or Connelly Early to the Cardinals, which is who the Cardinals presumably could have wanted.

The Cardinals and Red Sox did strike two other deals this offseason, with the Cardinals sending Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras to Boston. Chaim Bloom, who is now running the Cardinals front office, used to be the Red Sox' Chief Baseball Officer, so there is a familiarity there.

--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.'

--Speaking of Cijntje, he was just sent down to minor league spring training in a predictable roster move. Despite that, he's a candidate to make his major league debut in 2026 - as long as he stays healthy.

--The World Baseball Classic begins this week and Cardinals players who are playing are already gone from camp. Unfortunately, catcher Ivan Herrera was not granted insurance to play for Panama, so he is still in camp.

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