Reds' rival signals total surrender with rumors of a trade deadline fire sale

One of the Cincinnati Reds' biggest division rivals appear to be tearing it down to the studs at this year's MLB trade deadline. While rumors have persisted since this past winter about the St. Louis Cardinals' plan to hit the reset button, Oli Marmol's team made that transition difficult after a red-hot start to the season.

But with the MLB trade deadline less than 12 hours away, the Cardinals are open for business. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Cardinals have made several well-known players obtainable, and teams like the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros are inquiring about the availability of Lars Nootbar, Alec Burleson, and even Brendan Donovan.

The Cardinals were already known to be shopping players like Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray, and Nolan Arenado this past winter. Gray was even linked to the Reds at one point during the offseason. But with players like Nootbaar, Burleson, and Donovan possibly up for grabs, the Cardinals are waving the white flag on 2025, and maybe even 2026.

Reds' rival signals total surrender with rumors of a trade deadline fire sale in St. Louis

This type of teardown is akin to what the Reds did back in 2022. During that offseason, the Reds allowed Nick Castellanos and Wade Miley to walk via free agency, and also traded away Tucker Barnhart. Once the contract dispute between the league and the MLBPA was settled the following spring, Cincinnati shipped off Gray, Amir Garrett, Jesse Winker, and Eugenio Suárez.

Finally, the Reds completed their fire sale by trading players like Tyler Naquin, Luis Castillo, and Tyler Mahle at the 2022 MLB trade deadline. That seems to be the exact direction the Cardinals are headed, and much like the Reds fanbase back in 2022, the St. Louis faithful are none too happy about what's going on with their favorite team this season.

Heading into play on Thursday, the Reds held a 2½ games edge over the Cardinals in the division, and St. Louis was 5½ games back in the chase for the final NL Wild Card spot.

It remains to be seen if any or all of Nootbaar, Burleson, and Donovan are dealt at the trade deadline, but if they're not moved before 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, St. Louis will likely be shopping them again once the offseason rolls around.

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