Cardinals Reportedly Missed Out on Brendan Donovan Suitor

There have been a handful of teams linked to St. Louis Cardinals All-Star Brendan Donovan this offseason, but an intriguing nugget of information dropped on Saturday.

When it comes to the Donovan market, the teams that have been prominently linked to him have been the Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, and the San Francisco Giants. While this is the case, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported on Saturday that if the New York Mets didn't land Bo Bichette and Freddy Peralta, they were going to "emphasize" trading for Donovan.

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"It was not the offseason plotted, but also not the last-gasp they were planning had they not landed Bo Bichette and Freddy Peralta late — in which case they were going to emphasize trading with St. Louis for Brendan Donovan to play left field and trying to sign (Chris Bassitt) or Zac Gallen to deepen the rotation," Sherman wrote.

Who could win the sweepstakes?

Sep 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) runs to third base against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

That's unfortunate for the Cardinals. For St. Louis, it's for the best to have as much competition as possible to maximize a return for the organization if they do end up trading Donovan. The Athletic's Katie Woo joined MLB Network on Friday and noted that the Cardinals "do not feel like they need to trade" Donovan.

"Given the heavy interest Donovan has generated since the start of the winter, you'd assume that he'd be on the block as well. That's still the case but with a caveat. True to their stance, all offseason, the Cardinals do not feel like they need to trade Donovan and will only do so if they're blown away by an offer, according to a few sources

As much competition as possible is for the best for St. Louis, so this isn't the greatest news that the Mets could've had another option to negotiate with. The Mets did land Bichette and Peralta. Another takeaway is that the Red Sox, Giants and Mariners have been publicly linked to Donovan.

The Mets were not discussed much as a fit. So, are there any other teams out there in the Donovan sweepstakes that also haven't been publicly discussed? Donovan is clearly out there and is available. Can a team step up?

More MLB: Cardinals Star Reportedly Could Stay in St. Louis After All