Cardinals Have Clear Reason To Keep Brendan Donovan After Latest Update

The Cardinals may want to rethink things.

Sep 19, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) celebrate with first base coach Packy Elkins (86)after hitting a single against the Milwaukee Brewers during the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

2026 may be a rough year for the St. Louis Cardinals. They already sent veterans Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox, which accounts for some major subtractions this offseason.

They have three other trade candidates as well, including Brendan Donovan, JoJo Romero and Nolan Arenado. It appears likely that Arenado stays this winter, but the expectation has been that Donovan will be on the move.

However, after Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal’s latest update in The Athletic, the Cardinals may ultimately be best served holding onto their lone All-Star from the 2025 season, as the market hasn’t developed the way they expected it to.

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Cardinals Should Keep Donovan For 2026

Sep 16, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) is out at second base as St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) turns a double play in the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images | Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

Rosenthal and Sammon note that the Cardinals have set an incredibly high asking price because they believe Donovan is a star player. Unfortunately, other teams don’t see it that way, so that could lessen any return the Cardinals receive for Donovan.

But at this point, they are honestly best served keeping him. As the rebuild continues, the Cardinals are at least going to need some veteran voices around to help guide younger players, and Donovan has turned into a clubhouse leader over the past two years.

Yes, the Cardinals have a lot of left-handed bats, but they still have room to add a right-handed bat or two for the outfield. Donovan can play almost anywhere on the field minus the pitcher and catcher positions.

With Contreras gone, the Cardinals need to at least have some power in their lineup. They have Alec Burleson and Ivan Herrera, but Donovan also has a little pop in his bat, having hit 10 home runs last year.

They can at least still have their table-setter at the top of the lineup while also staying true to their rebuild. And if another opportunity arises to trade Donovan, potentially at the deadline or next offseason, then the Cardinals will be just fine.

They also picked up some solid young pitching in exchange for Gray and Contreras, so they have more pitching depth and room for younger players to shine and have more opportunities this year.

For that reason, keeping Donovan is just fine for the Cardinals, and they should ultimately do so unless they receive an offer they can’t refuse.

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