Gold Glove utility infielder tabbed by Jeff Passan as ‘perfect’ fit for Guardians

There’s no organization in baseball that values defensive flexibility more than the Cleveland Guardians. In fact, in 2025 the Guardians had a whopping seven players play at least 15 games at two positions. The year prior, that number was six. 

We got another reminder of that on Tuesday when ESPN insider Jeff Passan wrote the Guardians should trade for Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan in his story highlighting the “perfect” offseason move for each team.

Jeff Passan thinks Brendan Donovan would be the perfect fit for the Cleveland Guardians 

At face value, Donovan makes a lot of sense on the Guardians roster. He’s been an above-average hitter in every season since he entered MLB, and can handle second base, shortstop and corner outfield. 

Last season, he hit .287 with 10 home runs and 50 RBI in 118 games to secure his first All-Star Game nod. He also has two years of arbitration control remaining (he’s projected to make $5.4 million this offseason) and doesn’t fit into the long-term picture for the rebuilding Cardinals. He’d be great trade bait for president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom.

He also has the kind of approach the Guardians love. He finished last year in the 93rd percentile in expected batting average (.285) along with 95th percentile in whiff rate and the 92nd percent in chase rate. 

His best individual season came in 2022 when he hit .281 with five home runs and 45 RBI in 126 games while being worth 4.0 bWAR. He walked 60 times compared to just 70 strikeouts and won the National League’s Gold Glove at the utility position. 

And if that’s not enough, the Cardinals’ assistant GM is Rob Cerfolio, who was previously the Guardians’ farm director (as Passan pointed out in his article). 

The biggest red flag in his profile is his career splits (.812 OPS against righties; .651 against lefties) and the fact he missed two months in 2023 with a UCL brace procedure and just underwent sports hernia surgery for groin problems that limited him last season.

But that doesn’t take away from how smooth a fit this would be. He could man second base until Travis Bazzana is ready for the big leagues and then shift over to shortstop or the corner outfield based on the Guardians’ roster needs. 

That role was filled last year by Daniel Schneemann, but he hit just .206 with 117 strikeouts and finished the year with an OPS+ of 76. Donovan would be an instant upgrade. 

It would be foolish to think that he alone would fix the Guardians’ offensive woes, but adding him to the fold would be a step in the right direction for a team that should also benefit from some internal promotions in 2026.