Fans of the St. Louis Cardinals are anticipating a busy trade deadline. Their goal is for the team to get better and resume its winning ways. There should be a number of adjustments done, but one would upset a lot of Cardinals supporters.
In any trade the Cardinals make, Brendan Donovan need to be regarded as inviolable. For the Cardinals, he is simply that talented. This season, he has been essential to the team. He is ready to pick up a glove and play wherever he is required. He has experience playing second base and left field. Players like Donovan are not always available to teams.
Donovan is making a cut. 293/.364/.425 and 121 OPS+. He has three stolen bases, 38 RBIs, 52 runs scored, eight home runs, and 23 doubles. After recording two hits in the National League’s victory, he was named to his first All-Star game this season.
Barrel rate is a stat that tracks how often a player hits the ball with the ideal mix of power and angle—basically, it measures quality contact. This year, Brendan Donovan has a barrel rate of 8.8%, which puts him comfortably above the MLB average of 7.8%. For context, Aaron Judge leads the league at 14.8%, while Willson Contreras tops the Cardinals with 9.3%. So while Donovan isn’t leading the pack, he’s certainly hitting the ball better than most.
Donovan made an early impression in his career, finishing third in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2022, and taking home the first-ever Gold Glove for a utility player that same season. Based on how he’s playing now, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him add more hardware to his shelf in the future—he’s certainly building a strong case for it.
It would be devastating if Brendan Donovan were traded.
Looking ahead, Donovan becomes arbitration eligible in 2026 and hits free agency in 2028, which could make him an appealing trade target or long-term pickup for teams in need of a versatile, dependable player. He’s earned a great reputation in the Cardinals clubhouse—not just for his play, but for the way he carries himself. Younger teammates like Thomas Saggese enjoy learning from him and value his insight, seeing Donovan as a player who truly represents the “Cardinal Way” with his steady approach, leadership, and professionalism.
By season’s end, I hope Donovan will still be a Cardinal. Instead of letting the young player go, the Cardinals should try to sign Donovan for a long-term contract that will keep him in arbitration and beyond.
Donovan deserves to be paid well for all of his efforts. Instead of trading away the young star, fans would much rather see them get rewarded.