Sep 16, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) throws out Cincinnati Reds third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes (3) (not pictured) at first base in the second inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Puetz-Imagn Images Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

Cardinals All-Star Listed Among Top MLB Second Basemen

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Curt Bishop | Last updated Sep 18, 2025 2:00 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals are close to being eliminated from postseason contention. They are 4 1/2 games back in the National League Wild Card race with just nine games remaining on the regular season schedule. They have one more home series as they take on the Milwaukee Brewers this weekend. They could play the role of spoiler, but at 74-79, their chances of making a run are slim to none.

The team is going to rebuild soon, and that may include trading some popular players, such as Brendan Donovan, their lone All-Star this year.

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report ranked every Major League team's starting second baseman, and Donovan was ranked at No. 6 on the list.

Cardinals All-Star Ranked Among Best MLB 2B

Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

"Donovan spent the first three seasons of his career as one of baseball's best super-utility players before settling in an everyday role of sorts at second base this season and earning his first All-Star selection. He is the classic "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" player who gets the most out of his game, cut from the same cloth as Ben Zobrist," Reuter wrote.

Donovan, 28, has been arguably the best player on the Cardinals' roster this season. He is hitting .281/.348/.407 with 10 home runs, 47 RBI, a 2.5 WAR and a .755 OPS. He also has a 114 OPS+ and has picked up 124 hits in 442 at-bats.

He can play other positions as well, having played a lot of outfield and even shortstop. With Willson Contreras done for the year, St. Louis could even use him at first base until the season ends.

Donovan will be highly sought-after this offseason as the Cardinals begin their rebuild, and they could ultimately get a lot in return for him. But without him, they would be in a much worse position this year. It likely isn't any coincidence that they began to struggle after he was placed on the injured list.

If the Cardinals want to play spoiler on contending teams in the final stretch of the season, they'll need Donovan to be at his best and remain healthy for the remaining nine games.

The All-Star second baseman has been instrumental in keeping St. Louis afloat despite the quality of its roster. It will be interesting to see what he can do for St. Louis as the season winds down.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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