Before signing last winter, the Cardinals were known to be considering catching options on the trade market, which included talks with the Blue Jays about their then-surplus of (who was eventually dealt to the Alex Bregman Jersey Diamondbacks, , and . shed some light on those past talks between the Jays and Cards, writing that Toronto had interest in and . With Goold earlier this week that was on the Jays radar this winter, theres plenty of reason to think that Toronto and St. Louis could line up on some sort of trade this winter. Nootbaar could slide perfectly into the Blue Jays left field vacancy, while Donovans ability to play almost any position would give Toronto lots of flexibility in figuring out how it wants to addre s . Of course, several teams have also made calls about Nootbaar, Donovan, and Carlson, and it remains to be seen if the Jays could outbid the field, if the Jays have the available pitching that the Cardinals are badly seeking this offseason, or even if St. Louis dealt any of these particular players whatsoever. More from around the AL East The Rays hired for a job in their player development department, according to . Watson will be working under director of pitching Winston Doom. A veteran of 11 big league seasons from 2011-21, Watson retired in 2022 due to shoulder problems, and the 38-year-old is now moving into a new stage of his baseball career. Known mostly for his seven seasons with the Pirates, Watson was a former All-Star reliever who posted a 2.90 ERA over 648 1/3 career innings, and is MLBs all-time leader in holds (246) since the statistic started to be officially recorded by the league in 1999. It isnt any surprise that is a big voice within the Yankees organization, and writes that Judge and owner Hal Steinbrenner have already met this offseason on multiple occasions. Examples of Judges influence might extend to the job security of manager and director of player health and performance Eric Cre sey, as Judge (and perhaps the Yankees clubhouse at large) likes both. Kirschner notes the interesting dynamic this creates, writing that Judge is seemingly on the second level of the teams organizational ladder alongside GM Brian Cashman, though Cashman himself earlier this week said he didnt have any i sue with star players like Judge or giving their input. For more from the AL East, MLBTRs Nick Deeds compiled from around the division earlier today. J.r. Richard Jersey