4 days ago
2
It’s been clear since the beginning of the off-season that the St. Louis Cardinals planned to shop Brendan Donovan as nearly every team in the league has some level of interest. I’m still in favor of the Cardinals maximizing the value of players including Donovan, but I now have to ask the question of what it might look like if St. Louis planned to build around Donnie instead of trade him away.
Let me be clear that I am very pleased with Chaim Bloom’s approach so far. Unloading veterans and salary in exchange for a multitude of prospects is a good thing. This needs to continue with Nolan Arenado next, but I’m starting to wonder out loud if the Cardinals might be better off keeping Brendan Donovan. I have two primary reasons I’d like to focus on: versatility and affordability. I recognize these are also the reasons why other teams likely value Donovan, but let’s think about how this affects the current St. Louis Cardinals rebuild.
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What’s the stated reason for the St. Louis Cardinals to be so active in the trade market this offseason? Chaim Bloom has said that he covets young controllable pitching, wants to shed salary and create openings for top prospects. He’s already accomplished much of that with his trades of Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras. The benefit of deciding to keep Brendan Donovan doesn’t diminish any of those priorities. His versatility means he won’t block JJ Wetherholt or any of the Cardinals top prospects. The fact that he’s more than capable at virtually any infield position and even the outfield translates into exactly the type of player you’d love to have be part of a rebuild with lots of moving and unknown parts.
Brendan Donovan’s salary is embarrassingly affordable. He’s set to earn $5.75 million in 2026 and has an arbitration year in 2027 before he’s eligible to become a free agent in 2028. Brendan will celebrate his 29th birthday on January 16, 2026 which should mean he has several prime performance years remaining. There’s also Donovan’s leadership value which is hard to place a value on. Brendan has won the Heart and Hustle Award for three consecutive years which is exactly the type of example you want for young players coming up to the big club. What would happen if the St. Louis Cardinals worked out an extension with Donovan to keep him a Cardinal through his age 34 season? That gives the Cardinals an all-star caliber leader that would be the heart of the core of the team for the next several years.
I fully realize that all the reasons I’ve given for the St. Louis Cardinals to keep Brendan Donovan are why he’s so valuable as a trade asset. He’s the type of player every team would love to have. If Chaim Bloom receives an offer with the right prospects, I definitely want him to jump at it. But, the more I think about it, the more I don’t want to see Donovan traded for anything less than a blockbuster. Chaim Bloom has said as much saying they won’t trade Brendan unless they receive an offer that “blows them away”. If that doesn’t happen, Donovan could be a valuable trade deadline candidate, too. I just have to wonder if the team might consider choosing to build around him if none of these great offers comes to fruition. I would not be disappointed if that happens and Brendan Donovan remains a Cardinal for years to come.
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