Where Things Reportedly Stand With Cardinals Star Brendan Donovan

We realistically should start to see an uptick in moves around Major League Baseball over the next few days.

The Winter Meetings are just about to kick off and we should start to see rumors turn into concrete moves. Now, not all of the rumors around the league will lead to moves. There are always going to be more rumors, chatter, and speculation than actual deals.

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While that is true, the noise around the St. Louis Cardinals is very loud right now heading into the Winter Meetings, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch gave an update on the Cardinals' pursuits on Sunday and noted that "more than half" of teams around the league have shown interest in Brendan Donovan and the list of teams pursuing JoJo Romero "isn’t much shorter."

The Cardinals have plenty of trade candidates

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

"While they aren’t entering the auctions for the top free agents, they are exploring trades for players throughout their roster," Goold wrote. "And they’re getting, so to speak, a lot of foot traffic.

"If the player is a veteran like Willson Contreras or Nolan Arenado or an arbitration-eligible player such as Brendan Donovan or JoJo Romero, the Cardinals have had contact with another team about a trade. More than half the other clubs have at least expressed some interest in Donovan, and the list of teams considering Romero as a relief option isn’t much shorter."

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported earlier in the week that Donovan's market "remains conflagrant." The Seattle Mariners are one team that reportedly has shown interest in the Cardinals' All-Star. Goold also reported that the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and Cleveland Guardians have shown interest in Donovan.

"Donovan, the Cardinals’ lone All-Star this past season and a versatile fielder with a knack for contact, has drawn interest from the Royals, Astros, Dodgers, Yankees, Guardians, and others, per sources," Goold wrote.

Seattle also reportedly has interest in Romero. He was lights-out with a 2.07 ERA in 65 appearances for St. Louis in 2025.

The Cardinals have been in an endless number of trade rumors. St. Louis cut ties with Sonny Gray already this offseason. Now, the Winter Meetings are just about to kick off and hopefully, these rumors can lead to actual deals to end some of the noise around the organization.

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