Jul 26, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) at bat against the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images Tim Vizer-Imagn Images

Cardinals Insider Adds Another Team To Brendan Donovan Chase

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Jan 9, 2026 8:09 AM ET

Sooner or later, we’re going to see the dam break across Major League Baseball and deals will start to pop up.

That's been the sentiment all offseason to this point, but we really are roughly one month away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training camps around the league. At some point, a flurry of deals will come in as players and teams start to settle on deals with an eye towards the season itself. It will be especially interesting to see how the St. Louis Cardinals handle Brendan Donovan. He has been the subject of an avalanche of rumors and there's more noise each day.

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On Thursday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch broke down the market and noted that the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, and Kansas City Royals "have all maintained" some interest in Donovan. On top of this, he mentioned the Boston Red Sox as another team in the market.

The Brendan Donovan rumors are still going

Joe Puetz-Imagn Images

"Some of the same teams are interested in Marte or Donovan, and that is slowing the market for both of them, let alone the availability of Bichette as a free-agent middle infielder," Goold reported. "The Giants, Mariners and Royals have all maintained some level of interest in Donovan. At the same time, the Boston Red Sox are pushing to re-sign Bregman. Boston has had interest in Donovan pending other moves, and if Bregman signs elsewhere, the Red Sox could be the 'fit' the Cardinals seek this winter for Nolan Arenado."

On Thursday, MLB.com's John Denton also did a dive on Donovan's market and noted that the Cardinals are "likely" looking for at least two top 10 prospects in a deal around the All-Star. While discussing the market, Denton threw the Houston Astros out there as an option as well.

"But are those teams willing to pay the steep price -- likely two of an organization’s top 10 prospects -- to add Donovan, who holds even more value because his contract is club-controlled for two years? For now, teams are waiting to see if the price drops as squads get closer to Spring Training," Denton wrote. "Who blinks first: The rebuilding Cards or Donovan-seeking teams such as the Mariners, Giants, Royals and Astros?"

The Astros were mentioned as a fit for Donovan early in the offseason, but haven't really gotten the same level of buzz as teams like the Giants, Mariners, or even the Royals. The market remains strong but we should start to see breaks in the dam soon.

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

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