Cardinals May Lose Brendan Donovan Trade Suitor After Latest Update

The market may have shifted.

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

The St. Louis Cardinals have been fielding calls for All-Star second baseman Brendan Donovan over the last week, and his market is quite robust. Several teams have already shown interest.

One of those teams was the Kansas City Royals, who had holes at second base and in left field. However, they might have just taken care of second base. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, they tendered Jonathan India a one-year, $8 million contract.

With this news, a potential suitor may have bowed out of the sweepstakes for Donovan, somewhat limiting the Cardinals options for where to send him.

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Donovan Suitor Potentially Eliminated From Sweepstakes

Sep 26, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Kansas City Royals second baseman Jonathan India (6) rounds the bases after hitting a three run home run during the fourth inning against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

If the Royals wanted a second baseman, they appear to have found their guy for 2026, barring a trade of course. But they may have taken themselves out of the mix for Donovan at second base.

He can play left field, so perhaps the Royals could still show interest in bringing him on board, but as an outfielder rather than a second baseman. But this would seemingly put the Royals at a disadvantage.

As for the Cardinals, they still have plenty of suitors that will show interest in Donovan, with Jon Morosi of MLB Network listing the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets. The Cleveland Guardians also make sense as a landing spot.

So, this news doesn’t really hurt the Cardinals in any way, as plenty of teams are still interested. But the Royals might not be one of them anymore, as by giving India a contract, they have seemingly put themselves at a disadvantage unless India becomes a trade candidate or if they decide to try Donovan in the outfield.

The offseason activity will soon pick up, and with so many teams interested in Donovan, the Cardinals will have their hands full with offers, but they’ll also probably be able to get a trade done very quickly as long as they land some quality pitching in return for the All-Star.

The Cardinals are already one of the more fascinating teams to follow this winter. They’ll be one of the busiest too, unlike last offseason. 

Chaim Bloom has his work cut out for him as the Cardinals try to reset their roster and build a much younger team in 2026.

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