Cubs Could Derail Cardinals-Brendan Donovan Trade Market

Over the course of the offseason so far, St. Louis Cardinals All-Star Brendan Donovan has been heavily linked to the Seattle Mariners.

This has been the case all offseason. On Thursday, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal said he thinks the Mariners are the "favorites" for the All-Star utility man.

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"I still see Seattle as the favorite and the reason for that is their farm system is one of the best in the game," Rosenthal said on "Foul Territory." San Francisco is in the mix and has been for Donovan for quite some time, as Katie Woo reported. But their farm system is not very good at all and they don't have much to give that the Cardinals would necessarily want.

The Cardinals All-Star is still available

Sep 13, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) hits a solo home run against the Milwaukee Brewers in the third inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

If the Cardinals want to get a deal done with Seattle, it may be worth trying to do so sooner rather than later. With Alex Bregman going to the Chicago Cubs, that has led to rumors that Nico Hoerner could be available. The Seattle Times' Adam Jude noted that the Mariners have interest in Hoerner as well.

"Alex Bregman, the longtime Houston Astros third baseman, agreed to a five-year, $175 million deal with the Chicago Cubs over the weekend, taking one high-profile free agent off the board," Jude wrote. "On Tuesday, another veteran third baseman, St. Louis’ Nolan Arenado, was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Those two moves could open the door for the Mariners to swing a trade for players the front office has long coveted: Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner or Cardinals super utility player Brendan Donovan...

"A year ago, the Mariners and Cubs had exploratory talks about Hoerner. It’s unclear how far those discussions progressed, but industry sources say the Mariners remain interested in Hoerner. The Mariners’ top priority is still Donovan, a first-time All-Star in 2025."

MLB Network's Jon Morosi also floated the idea of Hoerner to Seattle earlier in the week.

“Now there could be a Seattle story here still part of it, which is that with Bregman now being a Cub, they may have the ability to trade either Matt Shaw or Nico Hoerner, either one of whom would be certainly of interest to the Mariners,” Morosi told Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob.

St. Louis has played the Donovan market perfectly so far this offseason. There aren't many options out there better than him on the trade block and other options -- like Ketel Marte -- have been taken off the block. The Cardinals have been holding out for a big-time return and the Mariners with one of the top farm systems in baseball could meet the mark, but now the Hoerner variable makes things a bit trickier.

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