Inside The Cardinals

Cardinals 'May Have To Trade' Fan Favorite All-Star To Kickstart Rebuild

Brendan Donovan could be on his way out of St. Louis...
Zach Pressnell|
Aug 2, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) throws to first base for a out during the third inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images
Aug 2, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) throws to first base for a out during the third inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images | David Frerker-Imagn Images

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St. Louis Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals are seemingly ready to rebuild as they head toward the backend of the season.

St. Louis traded away a few expiring relievers at the trade deadline, but there's a chance they could look to trade even more players in the coming months once the regular season ends.

FanSided's Curt Bishop recently suggested the Cardinals could kickstart their rebuild by trading All-Star second baseman Brendan Donovan this offseason.

"Even if it's going to take a few years for the Cardinals to return to contention, they need to restock their farm system with top prospects," Bishop wrote. "The best way for them to do that may ultimately be to trade Donovan. That is going to be tough for some fans to hear, as Donovan is a favorite in St. Louis and is far and away their best player.

"But their window to contend is not opening in 2026. At the same time, they also have a logjam of left-handed bats and not enough pitching in the system. This could help them clear out the logjam and truly build for the future; plus, the team might not be ready to win big by the time Donovan is set to hit free agency after the 2027 season."

Donovan could be on his way out of St. Louis for a few reasons. First of all, the emergence of top prospect JJ Wetherholt threatens Donovan's position at second base. While the Cardinals could simply move Donovan to the outfield, trading him would make more sense.

Donovan's trade value is higher now than it's ever been, and it's higher than it likely ever will be again. Trading him now would be getting the peak value from him in a deal. St. Louis would likely land a solid prospect return with big league-ready players in the package. It would be the perfect way to kickstart this full-scale rebuild.

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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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