Brendan Donovan's Trade Market On Fire Ahead Of Winter Meetings

The upcoming Winter Meetings are going to be very interesting for the St. Louis Cardinals organization as a whole.

This will be Chaim Bloom's first Winter Meetings as the organization's president of baseball operations. He already has sent a clear message this offseason that things are going to be different around St. Louis. Trade rumors are flowing and the Cardinals unsurprisingly are a team at the center of the noise. This was the case last offseason as well, but the Cardinals didn't really do anything.

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To be fair to the old front office, it was a lame-duck season. It was always known that the 2025 season would be John Mozeliak's final one at the helm of the Cardinals and Bloom would be taking over. That must've been a tough situation to navigate because how can you build for the present, when you know you won't be around for the future? Regardless, rumors swirled and St. Louis didn't make any big trades. That's in part to the no-trade clauses veterans around the team had, but still.

Brendan Donovan is the guy to watch now

Sep 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) runs to third base against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

Bloom hasn't been leading the front office for long, but he already has gotten one major trade done by sending Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox. It was a decisive step and showed St. Louis is open for business. Brendan Donovan has been the guy discussed the most since. His market reportedly is massive. On Friday, ESPN's Jeff Passan added more fuel to that idea by saying Donovan's market "remains conflagrant" and St. Louis is determining next steps.

"Miami is almost certain to move a starting pitcher this winter, and Edward Cabrera has generated the most interest. Boston has been discussing its outfield surplus with multiple teams," Passan wrote. "Pittsburgh wants to trade a starter for a hitter. The Brendan Donovan market remains conflagrant, as St. Louis considers whether its rebuild will include him or the hefty return he would fetch."

If Donovan's market is "conflagrant," that means it's on fire. It's massive and that aligns with the vast majority of the reporting around Donovan this offseason so far.

It doesn't guarantee a deal, though. Passan noted that the Cardinals are considering their options at this time. Earlier in the week, The Athletic's Katie Woo reported that the Cardinals "are not inclined to move him unless they receive an offer they simply can’t refuse."

What we know about the Cardinals' offseason so far is that the organization is open for business. That was shown by the Gray deal. They are willing to do more than just talk about making moves. For Donovan, clearly there is interest. At this point, it's whether or not the club views him as a piece for the team for the long haul, or if the time is now to move.

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