New Cardinals buzz pours cold water on Guardians' pursuit of Brendan Donovan 

At this point in the MLB offseason, every day that goes by at this point in the offseason limits the amount of pathways for the Guardians to upgrade their roster. 

Whether it be veterans signing elsewhere or trade targets being taken off the board, we’re at a point in the MLB calendar where teams have begun to finalize their roster plans for 2026. 

One team that’s still clearly working through things is the St. Louis Cardinals, who just traded Willson Contreras to the Boston Red Sox and are still navigating a rebuild under president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. 

Along with dealing Contreras and Sonny Gray, the Cardinals also have some veterans who are available in trade talks in the form of Lars Nootbaar, Nolan Arenado, Alec Burleson and Brendan Donovan, among others. 

Of those options, Donovan stands out as a clear target for the Guardians thanks to his ability to hit for power and bounce around the diamond on defense. But if Bloom's new comments are to be believed, it may be a bit harder for the Guardians to get Donovan in trade talks. 

On Tuesday, Donovan held court with numerous reports on the team’s beat, where he shined a new light on St. Louis’ offseason plans — most notably the Cardinals are on the hunt for right-handed hitting outfielders via both trade talks and free agency. 

That’s bad news for the Guardians, who only have one right-handed hitting outfielder on their roster and should be in the market for the same kind of player. 

While that doesn’t take them fully out of the Donovan sweepstakes, it’ll make it harder for them to get him — and all but confirms the Guardians would need to give up someone like Parker Messick or Joey Cantillo to get Donovan. 

The Guardians' potential quest to get Brendan Donvan just got a little bit harder 

While there hasn’t been any reporting about the Guardians’ interest in Donovan since Jeff Passan tabbed him as the best fit for Cleveland earlier in the offseason, there’s still an obvious need for him on the roster. 

He can play at second base and the outfield, which are arguably the two biggest areas of need for the Guardians. Donovan would be a great place-holder at second until Travis Bazzana makes his MLB debut and would also be a good option in the outfield alongside Chase DeLauter and George Valera. 

Donovan’s coming off a season where he hit .287 with 10 home runs in 118 games in what was the first All-Star season of his career. He hit .278 with 14 home runs and 73 RBI in 152 games in 2024. 

As of now, the Guardians’ only moves to address their lineup have been re-signing Austin Hedges to a one-year contract and bringing in Stuart Fairchild on a minor league contract. 

Bringing in Donovan would be a clear win for the Guardians, but it seems like they may need to overpay with pitching and other positions on the roster since they don’t have the kind of right-handed reinforcements the Cardinals seem to be looking for.