Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals Have 1 More Move to Make After Brendan Donovan Stunner

The Cardinals could complete their offseason with one more blockbuster move...
Zach Pressnell|
Jun 28, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) runs the bases on his solo home run in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Jun 28, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) runs the bases on his solo home run in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

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St. Louis CardinalsSeattle MarinersBoston Red SoxNew York YankeesToronto Blue Jays

The St. Louis Cardinals pressed the rebuild button at the trade deadline last season when they traded Steven Matz, Phil Maton, and Ryan Helsley to a trio of contenders around the league. This offseason, they opted to dive headfirst into the rebuild by trading Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado, and Willson Contreras in a trio of deals earlier this winter.

But the Cardinals' biggest deal came on Monday, when they reportedly agreed to send Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for a huge return of prospects.

Donovan is going to fit perfectly with the Mariners. Seattle lost two starting infielders this offseason, but adding Donovan should lessen the blow.

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It's the perfect move to push the Cardinals toward a brighter future. They were likely going to lose Donovan at the end of the year either way, so netting a huge haul in return makes much more sense. That leaves the Cardinals with one more move to make this winter: Trading reliever JoJo Romero.

Trading JoJo Romero is the next move for the Cardinals to make

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher JoJo Romer
Sep 16, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher JoJo Romero (59) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images | Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

Romero is the next, and like the final, domino to fall in the Cardinals offseason. He's a very talented left-handed reliever, so the Cardinals should have no issue finding suitors that want to add him to their roster.

The New York Yankees are always in the market to add on. They had a bit of a lackluster offseason, so it wouldn't be surprising to see them make a move like this to improve their roster. Adding Romero would help turn the Yankees' weakness into a strength,

The Boston Red Sox could look to bring him in, too. They already have a high leverage lefty in Aroldis Chapman, but adding Romero wouldn't be a bad idea.

The best landing spot for Romero is the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays bullpen was a huge weakness last season and they've made small moves to improve it this winter. Adding Romero in a big offseason trade would cap off a huge offseason in Toronto.

More MLB: Cardinals Hit Big, Landed Huge Return in Brendan Donovan Trade

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Zach Pressnell
ZACH PRESSNELL

Zach Pressnell has experience covering all major US sports at both the professional and collegiate levels. He’s produced content for FanSided, Blog Red Machine, The Game Haus, Bethany College Athletics and the Bethany College online newspaper, He graduated from Bethany College (WV) with a degree in Communications and Media Arts, specializing in Sports Journalism. Pressnell was also a four-year member of the baseball team where he earned himself All-PAC recognition as a pitcher (and a cool Tommy John surgery scar). Now, Pressnell specializes in NFL and MLB coverage for Sports Illustrated’s “On SI” network among others. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "St. Louis Cardinals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org

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