Cardinals Update Drops On Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado Trade Markets

Where might these two wind up?

Apr 2, 2023; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) and third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) poses for a photo with their Rawlings gold and platinum glove awards before a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

It's been a busy offseason already for the St. Louis Cardinals, but there are still some major agenda items to check off the list.

Trading away Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras, both to the Boston Red Sox, netted the Cardinals a boatload of young pitching. Two more veterans, Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado, stand out as candidates to be traded if St. Louis can get the right haul.

Both Donovan and Arenado have two years left under contract, but the former is trending upward with the latter struggling to maintain his star status. How realistic is it to think the Cardinals can move them both for the prices they're seeking?

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Where Cardinals' trade market stands, per insider

Aug 28, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Chaim Bloom, Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox on the field before the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

If St. Louis doesn't get both Donovan and Arenado off the books, it apparently won't be due to a lack of effort.

On Monday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Cardinals were "aggressively" looking to deal both players, while hinting that the availability of trade pieces helped St. Louis while hindering free agents looking for new deals.

"The St. Louis Cardinals are aggressively shopping infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan and third baseman Nolan Arenado," Nightengale wrote.

"Teams like the Red Sox have chosen to hit the trade market instead of pushing all of their chips into free agency, landing starters Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo, as well as Willson Contreras. As long as there’s trade inventory, it slows down the free-agent market."

The high prices on free agents seemed to help the Cardinals get better returns for Gray and Contreras, especially because St. Louis was willing to eat money in the process.

They'd undoubtedly have to eat some of the remaining $32 million owed to Arenado in any deal, as the eight-time All-Star has regressed offensively in each of his last three seasons. He finished this past season with an OPS+ under league average for the first time since 2013, his rookie year (excluding the shortened 2020 campaign).

Donovan being traded feels like more of a certainty at this point, as the Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants, and Red Sox have all been in the mix.

More MLB: Cardinals' Brendan Donovan Gets Updated Trade Prediction From MLB Insider