Cardinals Gold Glover 'Would Be Wise' Trade Candidate Amid Career Year

The St. Louis Cardinals haven't committed to buying or selling before the July 31 trade deadline but some insiders are suggesting that they could be preparing to part ways with significant talent.

With a little over two weeks to go before the trade deadline, the Cardinals are 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the National League Central and 1 1/2 games out of an NL Wild Card spot.

One could argue that the Cardinals should buy, given that they're still within striking distance in the playoff race but considering that the organization is enduring a bit of a reset, perhaps St. Louis will consider moving an asset having the best year of his career this season to maximize his trade value.

"This is a long shot, as there haven't been any solid rumors or even any vaguely compelling chatter about Brendan Donovan getting traded this summer," Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer wrote Tuesday morning when outlining 2025 All-Stars who could be traded this summer. "Not that this is surprising. He's been the Cardinals' best position player, and the team has risen above low expectations amid a 51-46 start to the year. They will begin the second half with only a 1.5-game deficit in the NL wild-card race."

Donovan, who became an All-Star for the first time in his four-year career this season, has batted .297 with 30 extra-base hits including eight home runs, 36 RBIs and a .797 OPS in 89 games played for the Cardinals in 2025.

"Though there has been nothing recently, Donovan has occasionally popped up in trade rumors in the past," Rymer continued. "Now would arguably be a good time to make him available, and not just because this is probably as high as his value is going to go. It's a matter of public knowledge that the Cardinals will be undergoing a transition after 2025, with Chaim Bloom set to inherit the front office from John Mozeliak. If the team continues to fade in the NL playoff race, it would be wise to get a head start on the process. The present isn't special, after all, and the future is clouded by a mediocre farm system. If nothing else, trading Donovan would help the latter."

Although moving Donovan before July 31 is highly unlikely, doing so could make sense for the Cardinals. Trading the one-time Gold Glove utility man would help St. Louis replenish its lackluster farm system and open more opportunities for younger talent, such as JJ Wetherholt, Thomas Saggese and Chase Davis.

Still, Donovan is an essential piece to the Cardinals' future and is controllable through 2027. It's challenging to picture a scenario where St. Louis would trade a 28-year-old homegrown star with that much time left before becoming a free agent.

However, Mozeliak similarly dealt away Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Tommy Edman last summer in exchange for short-term success, so the Cardinals trading Donovan this early in his career shouldn't be ruled out.