Report: Jays rejected Flaherty-for-Donaldson trade with Cards in offseason

Over the offseason, the St. Louis Cardinals were consistently mentioned in trade rumors surrounding third baseman Josh Donaldson. However, their proposal to the Toronto Blue Jays for the former All-Star was largely unknown, until now.

It turns out the Cardinals offered impressive rookie pitcher Jack Flaherty and one other player for Donaldson, an anonymous Blue Jays official told Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY. Of course, Toronto rejected the offer, opting to retain the 2015 American League MVP.

In the end, Toronto wound up trading Donaldson - whose value was hampered by shoulder and calf injuries that held him to 36 underwhelming games for the club this season - to the Cleveland Indians on Aug. 31 for a player to be named later, widely believed to be pitching prospect Julian Merryweather.

Meanwhile, the 22-year-old Flaherty has played an integral role for the Cardinals in their push for the playoffs. Heading into Friday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the right-hander had made 24 starts this season, authoring a 2.92 ERA and 3.77 FIP over 132 1/3 innings.