Red Sox Remain Contender For 28-Year-Old All-Star

Despite two trades already this offseason, the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals remain linked for potentially another.

Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras already have come to town and Brendan Donovan remains another guy who has been linked to the organization as it has tried to figure out its path forward in the infield. On Monday, The Athletic’s Katie Woo and Will Sammon gave an update on the Donovan market and noted that Boston has "come into the picture" for the All-Star utility man.

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"Donovan, who is fresh off his first All-Star season and has two years of team control remaining, continues to garner competitive interest from several teams," Woo and Sammon wrote. "The Cardinals believe they can land the type of package they’ve been coveting. As they’ve shown, however, they’re comfortable waiting — and with the Arizona Diamondbacks contemplating trading Ketel Marte, the Cardinals might need to wait longer.

The Red Sox shouldn't get hasty in the trade market

"Traction with Donovan appeared to be building shortly after the Winter Meetings, with the Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants emerging as frontrunners. However, negotiations stalled as the Contreras trade began to take shape. Now the Red Sox have again come into the picture as a potential trade partner. The Cardinals and Red Sox have discussed a trade for Donovan, as The Athletic reported last week, with Boston looking for an additional middle infielder. No deal with any team appears to be close, but with the Contreras trade completed, St. Louis will shift back to making Donovan a priority. Expect trade talks to pick up over the next couple of weeks."

It's intriguing to hear the Red Sox continue to be linked to Donovan, but what would it take to get him? It has been reported that the Cardinals want two top prospects for him at least. The Seattle Mariners have been a team heavily linked to Donovan. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported that Seattle is willing to include switch-pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje in a deal to land Donovan. He was a 2024 first-round pick and is one of the more intriguing pitching prospects in the game because he pitches both left-handed and right-handed.

So, if someone like Cijntje is on the table, it can be assumed that the Red Sox would have to include at least one top pitching prospect as well. Payton Tolle is Boston's No. 2 prospect, Kyson Witherspoon is the team's No. 3 prospect, and Connelly Early is the team's No. 4 prospect.

Donovan is a great player, but does it really make sense to part ways with at least one top pitching prospect and more for him? Arguably not. Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette are both better players and all it would take to sign either is a lucrative contract in free agency. Boston has done a good job in the trade market so far this offseason, but it is a big-market team with plenty of money to spend. There's no need to deal more prospects when you can get a better player just by spending some cash.

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