Cardinals All-Star Still Drawing Trade Interest From Three Teams

Still a hot commodity.

Mar 6, 2019; Tampa, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals hat and gloves lay in the dugout at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals are set to begin the first year of their rebuild soon. Spring training is right around the corner, and the Cardinals have made some big moves this offseason.

Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and Nolan Arenado have all been traded away. Now, the focus turns to All-Star second baseman Brendan Donovan. He is their top trade chip and could bring back a major haul in exchange.

There have been three main suitors for Donovan that have been calling the Cardinals for much of the offseason. According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the market is still quite active for Donovan.

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Where Will Donovan Land?

Aug 11, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pinch hitter Brendan Donovan (33) hits a go-ahead two run double against the Colorado Rockies during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

"The Cardinals continue to receive calls from at least the Mariners, Giants, and Red Sox on the one remaining All-Star on their active roster: Brendan Donovan," Goold wrote.

The Cardinals have a lot of leverage with Donovan. They are selling high on him, and all three teams that are showing interest in him have the prospects necessary to pull off a trade. The Red Sox might be the team best positioned to land him.

Boston lost Alex Bregman and missed out on Bo Bichette. With those two targets off the board, they may ramp up their pursuit of Donovan and offer the Cardinals a large return package for their All-Star second baseman.

The Mariners have made adding Donovan their top priority, per Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, so they could easily make a big push for him. Jeff Passan also reported that the Giants were ramping up their pursuit of Donovan.

It's possible that a deal could come together in the next couple of days, which would be good news for St. Louis as they try to continue with their rebuild and accumulate as much young talent as possible.

More pitching can't hurt, but they could also use a right-handed bat or two. But the Cardinals have a lot of leverage in trade talks for Donovan as they try and focus on the future instead of contending in 2026.

It will be interesting to see how Donovan's market develops over the next few days, especially with Boston now in need of another bat. Donovan checks a lot of boxes for contending teams.

More MLB: Former Cardinals Pitcher Weighs In on Possible Brendan Donovan Trade