If the Yankees can’t retain Cody Bellinger, there’s reportedly an outfielder drawing league-wide trade interest who could be obtained.
Cardinals outfielder Brendan Donovan is a hot commodity and could be moved this year with the team embarking on a new path with president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom.
MLB Network’s Jon Morosi specifically said a lot of the large-market teams, including the Yankees and Mets, love the 28-year-old.
“The question is not so much who is in on Donovan, but who is not,” Morosi reported Thursday night.
“I talked to a source today who said this man has about as much action as the trade market as any other player in Major League Baseball.”
The Cardinals are a proud franchise mired in mediocrity, having missed the playoffs in three straight seasons and finishing below .500 in two of those seasons, including a 78-84 campaign this year.
Bloom, the former top Red Sox, is not planning for a full rebuild, per The Athletic, but he’s entertaining offers for top players to help return the team to contender status.
Brendan Donovan made the NL All-Star team last year. AP
Donovan earned the team’s lone All-Star berth last year and trading him could allow the franchise to obtain some young talent that could, in theory, kickstart a potential rebuild.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Cardinals hold Donovan in “high regard,” but his age and the team’s timeline to compete could lead to a deal to allow for maximum value.
Donovan made just $2.85 million last year and has two years of team control left before reaching free agency.
Cody Bellinger is a top free-agent outfielder. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
He plays multiple positions, having manned second base, shortstop, left field and right field in his career, and slashed .287/.353/.422 with a .755 OPS this past season.
This year’s outfield free-agency class is headlined by Bellinger and Kyle Tucker, and otherwise lacks real difference-makers.
The Cardinals could capitalize on that lack of impact bats and trade Donovan to help boost a system that already has four top-100 prospects, according to MLB.com.
St. Louis is also expected to trade veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado, per The Athletic.