Cardinals Still In Touch With AL East Suitor For Brendan Donovan

There could still be a deal.

Sep 15, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (21) and President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak pose for a photo after Donovan is named the St. Louis Cardinals 2025 Roberto Clemente nominee prior to their game against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images | Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals have turned the page to 2026, where there will be a lot of question marks. They have traded away two star players in Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray.

Another player that is likely to be on the move is Brendan Donovan. While the Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants have been the top suitors, there are other teams in the mix as well, including an AL East contender.

They have had interest for a while, and some fans are left wondering if Donovan will ultimately be traded there. Derrick Goold provided an update on the situation in his weekly Cardinals chat.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Cardinals Still In Touch With AL East Team

Sep 12, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second base Brendan Donovan (33) gets a base hit against the Milwaukee Brewers in the seventh inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

“The Cardinals remain in conversation with Boston, and the Red Sox have interest in Donovan. They haven't pivoted away, per se, just been involved in other pursuits,” Goold reported.

The Red Sox are the team the Cardinals have made their two trades with this offseason. The trade of Gray brought back Richard Fitts and prospect Brandon Clarke. Hunter Dobbins was the headliner in the Contreras deal last month.

Boston still has a lot of intriguing young pitching in their system. Donovan could bring back a haul of young and controllable pitching, as long as the Cardinals sell high on him. Chaim Bloom also put together a strong farm system while he was at the helm in Boston, so there is familiarity with the organization.

Trading Donovan would obviously not be a win-now move, and the Cardinals are rebuilding anyway. However, it would trim their supply of left-handed hitters and allow them to clear a spot on the roster for top prospect JJ Wetherholt.

Donovan has two years of club control remaining, but it’s going to be a while before the Cardinals contend, so it makes sense to trade him, and the Red Sox are already a familiar team that they have made several trades with.

It will be interesting to see where trade talks go with these two teams. The Cardinals and Red Sox have done a lot of business together since the trade deadline, so it would make sense for Bloom to once again circle back to his old team and see what he can get for some of his star players.

More MLB: Cardinals Give Nolan Arenado Update After Year Of Rumors