Cardinals Would Be Wise to Reject This Brendan Donovan Mock Trade

This trade wouldn't be enough for the Cardinals.

Sep 15, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (21) hits a single against the Cincinnati Reds in the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images | Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals still have one more trade chip on their roster as they prepare for the 2026 season. They'll be rebuilding rather than contending and will have their focus almost solely on the future.

The trade chip in question is Brendan Donovan, who Ken Rosenthal believes will still be traded before the season begins. He could bring back the best possible haul for a team in need of young talent.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report put together a few mock trade packages for Donovan, including one from the San Francisco Giants that would include St. Louis adding Lars Nootbaar to the deal.

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Cardinals-Giants trade package wouldn't help St. Louis

Sep 15, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (21) take his position against the Cincinnati Reds in the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images | Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

"Aside from Roki Sasaki, Josuar Gonzalez was regarded as the top prospect in last winter's international class. And though he didn't turn 18 until after the season ended, he stole 33 bases, walked more than he struck out and posted an .859 OPS. But it'll be years before he's helping out in the majors. Meanwhile, like Donovan, Nootbaar has two years left until free agency and is presumably every bit as available as his second base counterpart," Miller wrote.

While Gonzalez is a top prospect that would help strengthen the Cardinals' farm system, they would be best avoiding this deal at all costs. Simply put, they wouldn't be getting enough in return if they made this potential deal.

As the old saying goes, a team can never have too much pitching depth, and while the Cardinals have a lot of it, it would make sense to add an arm that is Major League ready and give them enough depth in the upper minor league levels to get through the season in case a pitcher gets hurt and misses an extended period of time.

The Giants have two solid pitching prospects that the Cardinals would be wise to target. Left-hander Carson Whisenhunt and right-hander Blade Tidwell have already made their Major League debuts, but they could be good plug-and-play options in the event of an injury.

A Donovan trade likely wouldn't bring them both back in a return, but the Cardinals would need at least one MLB ready arm if they trade Donovan. They need to make sure it's an offer they can't refuse before they pull the trigger.

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