With the St. Louis Cardinals' trade deadline plans becoming clearer by the day, one veteran is sure to draw significant interest from teams — Phil Maton. Signed during spring training on March 13 for just $2 million, Maton has been arguably the best and most consistent reliever for the Cardinals all season long.
Trade #1 - Houston Astros
The Astros are right back in the middle of contention as one of the AL's best teams. A big factor to their success this year has been their lights-out bullpen. The Astros have a definitive top 3 bullpen this season, as these are where they rank in all of baseball:
fWAR- 2nd
ERA- 3rd
FIP- 2nd
K/9- 1st
BB/9- 5th
LOB%- 1st
Their bullpen consists of an elite closer (Josh Hader), a star setup man (Bryan Abreu), a trio of good lefties (Steven Okert, Bryan King, and Bennett Sousa), and one solid right-handed MRP (Shawn Dubin).