Jul 30, 2021; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; A Kansas City Royals hat and glove in the dugout during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Cardinals’ Trade Options Narrow With Royals Slipping Away

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Jan 17, 2026 8:26 AM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals have one of the top trade chips of the offseason, but there's no end in sight.

Free agency started to really pick up steam this past week, but the trade market hasn't gotten moving again since the St. Louis Cardinals traded Nolan Arenado to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cardinals have Brendan Donovan out there for the taking, but no team has stepped up to the plate and made St. Louis an offer that it could not refuse.

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Earlier in the week, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic noted that he believes the Seattle Mariners are the favorite for Donovan, but mentioned the San Francisco Giants, and Kansas City Royals as options as well.

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"I still see Seattle as the favorite and the reason for that is their farm system is one of the best in the game," Rosenthal said on "Foul Territory." San Francisco is in the mix and has been for Donovan for quite some time, as Katie Woo reported. But their farm system is not very good at all and they don't have much to give that the Cardinals would necessarily want.

"Then there's Kansas City. They've been kind of on the fringes of this thing the whole time. I don't see them necessarily outbidding the Mariners, but they do have some interesting young pitching in particular. Those are the teams and I do believe that he'll get dealt and the idea of Nootbaar and Donovan together to Seattle, I could see that being a possibility."

On Friday, Rosenthal followed up and reported that the Royals are "increasingly unlikely" to land Donovan at this time.

"The Kansas City Royals are increasingly unlikely to land either of the two hitters they pursued in trades, St. Louis’ Brendan Donovan and Boston’s Jarren Duran," Rosenthal reported. "Barring further moves, the Royals expect to rely heavily on offseason acquisitions Isaac Collins and Lane Thomas in their outfield, as well as rookie Jac Caglianone and holdover Kyle Isbel."

With Kansas City, the thing that stands out the most is its pitching, including Cole Ragans. If he were available, he's the type of hurler that could move the needle for the Cardinals if Donovan and others were offered. But, alas, it appears as though the Royals will not win the sweepstakes. The Mariners and Giants have been prominently linked to Donovan all offseason as well as the Boston Red Sox a bit. Could this be the beginning of the end of the market?

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

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