Half of Major League Baseball appears to be interested in trading for Brendan Donovan, but two teams are apparently separating themselves from the pack.
The Seattle Mariners and the San Francisco Giants have emerged as the two frontrunners to trade for the St. Louis Cardinals All-Star utilityman Brendan Donovan, Katie Woo of The Athletic reported on Saturday. Woo adds that the Cardinals, who are in the midst of a rebuild, would like to land multiple top prospects in exchange for Donovan.
Donovan, a 28-year-old lefty hitter, was an All-Star for the Cardinals in 2025, batting .287 with 10 home runs and 50 RBIs through 118 games. Also a Gold Glove winner in 2022, Donovan is under club control through 2027.
The Mariners, who have the third-best farm system in MLB according to ESPN’s latest rankings, are coming off a 90-win season and a division title capped by a narrow loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS. They also just lost infielder Jorge Polanco in free agency to the New York Mets.
Meanwhile, the Giants, who have just the 24th-ranked farm system according to ESPN, went 81-81 in 2025 and missed the playoffs. They could certainly stand to upgrade their middle infield alongside $182 million man Willy Adames at shortstop.
The Cardinals have been shopping Donovan, who primarily operates at second base and left field, for much of the offseason. Donovan is unlikely to be the only star player whom St. Louis, under their new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, looks to trade this winter as well.
