Giants, Cardinals are ideal fit for Brendan Donovan trade

The St. Louis Cardinals are playing a waiting game with Brendan Donovan, their lone All-Star from the 2025 season. He is on the trade block but has yet to be moved.

The Cardinals can get a haul of prospects for Donovan, who is their top trade chip, as he's under club control for two more years. 

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on Thursday that teams such as the Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals are still showing "some level of interest" in the All-Star second baseman.

But if the Cardinals want the best possible return, the best place to start would be with the Giants.

Cardinals should trade Brendan Donovan to San Francisco Giants

Back in December, Katie Woo of The Athletic reported that the Giants and Mariners were the top suitors for Donovan, and she listed some prospects from each team that they might want.

Woo revealed that they had spoken to the Giants about infielder Gavin Kilen and left-hander Carson Whisenhunt. Whisenhunt is a major league-ready starting pitcher who could add to the Cardinals' depth and give them another young option with upside.

Meanwhile, the Mariners were not willing to discuss MLB-ready talent. This is important to note. While the Cardinals are in a rebuild and more than likely won't contend for a few years at least, it's still important to bring in major league-ready talent.

That way, in case of an injury, they can insert somebody like Whisenhunt into the rotation and have enough depth to at least get through the 2026 season. They lacked that depth in 2025.

A team can never have too much starting pitching, so accumulating as much of that depth as possible will be crucial for the Cardinals. As far as Donovan goes, they would also be opening up a spot for top prospect JJ Wetherholt and cutting down on their excess of left-handed bats.

That could also leave room for another addition in free agency, possibly a right-handed outfield bat. 

The Cardinals will want several top prospects if they are going to trade Donovan, and they need at least one more MLB-ready arm, even though they aren't looking to contend this year. 

Beyond Whisenhunt, the Giants also have right-handers Blade Tidwell and Trevor McDonald, who could be included in a potential deal. The more depth the Cardinals have in their system, the better off they'll be in 2026 and beyond. 

It could also allow them to move along with their rebuild a little bit faster than expected.