It’s not often that you see the Chicago Cubs make a big trade to upgrade their roster and actually see it as a win for the St. Louis Cardinals, but in this case, the Cubs may have just done the Cardinals a huge favor.

On Sunday night, the Cubs agreed to a deal with the Houston Astros to acquire closer Ryan Pressly, who has been one of the best relievers in baseball over the last seven seasons. No, I’m not going to make some point about how the Cubs just made a bad trade and the Cardinals will be laughing about it later. Pressly is a really good addition to the Cubs bullpen and could play a huge role in their contention hopes this year.

This is the second major trade the Astros have made with the Cubs this offseason, as they acquired superstar outfielder Kyle Tucker from them back in December. One could actually argue that the Tucker trade may have hurt the Cardinals’ chances of trading Arenado, as it caused him to have cold feet about Houston as a trade destination and so they moved on to signing Christin Walker. But this trade may actually help open Arenado’s market back up.

The Astros trading Ryan Pressly may result in them resigning Alex Bregman, which means the Cubs helped accelearte Nolan Arenado’s trade market

Yes, you read that right. Many believed over the last week that if the Astros were able to move Pressly in a trade, it would increase their chances of signing Alex Bregman long-term. If you’ve been keeping up with the Arenado trade rumors, you’ll know that a major reason why is market is at a standstill right now is because of Bregman still looking for a home, and once suitors can move on from him, Arenado may become their top priority.

If Bregman resigns with the Astros, the Boston Red Sox are the prime destination for Arenado to go to. Red Sox manager Alex Cora and shortstop Trevor Story expressed their interest in Arenado coming to Boston recently to the media. But even if Bregman does not end up in Houston, them freeing up money probably turns up the heat on Boston or other Bregman suitors, which could mean a deal gets done here very soon.

Yes, that ultimately helps the Cardinals out. As the days go on, the likelihood of Arenado remaining with the Cardinals also continues to rise. Both sides would like a deal to get done, but Arenado is going to be picky about where he ends up, and the Cardinals want to feel like they made a good deal as well. As things currently stand, Arenado’s market is at a standstill. But if Bregman comes off the board here soon, we could see things move rather quickly.

It remains to be seen if that actually happens, but the Pressly deal is a very interesting domino to fall in the Arenado sweepstakes. The Cubs are doing what is in the best interest of their team, but hey, it would be nice to see something that benefits them somehow benefit the Cardinals as well.