Aug 2, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) throws to first base for a out during the third inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-Imagn Images David Frerker-Imagn Images

Conflicting Brendan Donovan Reports Cloud Cardinals Trade Talks

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Jan 24, 2026 8:57 AM ET

The trade market around Major League Baseball is complicated.

Rumors fly all over the place pointing in different directions. Speculation and mock trades don't necessarily help. Instead, they add more noise to topics that already aren't crystal clear. A perfect example is the Brendan Donovan sweepstakes.

The St. Louis Cardinals have him on the trade block and a handful of teams have been linked to him. One team that has been thrown out there as an option has been the Boston Red Sox. But, that's where the complications come into play.

Earlier in the week, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal threw cold water on the idea of Donovan to Boston because he's a left-handed bat and the Red Sox are lefty-heavy.

"They've got one big move left in them I believe," Rosenthal said. "If they do that, people will point to Nico Hoener. I don't know if the Cubs are going to trade Nico Hoerner. Brendan Donovan also out there in a trade, but the Red Sox don't necessarily want to go left-handed at that position. They're pretty left-handed as it is. So, there are still a lot of interesting things still to come."

Where will Brendan Donovan go?

Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

Earlier in the week, Jon Heyman of the New York Post said that Donovan is one of the players on the Red Sox's radar.

"The Red Sox are talking trade for an infielder," Heyman wrote. "Isaac Paredes is on their radar. So is Cardinals INF Brendan Donovan."

For the Cardinals, if they get a trade done it doesn't necessarily matter which team it is with as long as they get the asking price they want. But reports like this complicate the trade block, which already is tricky anyway. The Cardinals are fortunate to have one of the better trade chips in the game, but are the Red Sox really an option for St. Louis?

If so, that would help from a competition standpoint and leverage with other teams, like the San Francisco Giants and the Seattle Mariners. If the Red Sox aren't in, that would be one less suitor. All in all, the Cardinals should be rooting for as much competition as possible.

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

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