Cardinals Announce Brendan Donovan News After Loss to Yankees

After losing to the New York Yankees on Sunday, the St. Louis Cardinals have now lost five consecutive games and six of their last eight. On Monday, they will kick off a three-game series against the Miami Marlins in hopes of getting things back on track.

With a little over a month left in the regular season, St. Louis is 61-64 and 5.5 games behind the New York Mets for the final NL Wild Card spot. While not impossible, it will be incredibly difficult for the Cardinals to make this climb in the standings and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

Part of their recent slump is due to the absence of All-Star Brendan Donovan, who has been out of action since August 13 due to a groin and foot injury. On Monday, the team announced that the 28-year-old has been placed on the 10-day IL due to a left groin strain. In his place, they have called up infielder José Fermín.

“INF José Fermín has been recalled from Memphis (AAA). INF/OF Brendan Donovan has been placed on the 10-day IL (left groin strain), retroactive to Aug. 15,” the Cardinals wrote on X.

Brendan Donovan Is Enjoying a Career Year

Though not everything has gone right for the Cardinals this season, at least Donovan is having a solid campaign. Through 110 games, the German native is hitting .279 at the plate with nine home runs and 45 RBIs. Additionally, he was selected to the first All-Star team of his career this year.

Just three years ago, Donovan finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting and won the NL Gold Glove award for second base. However, while he had been solid since, he had yet to add another big-time accolade to his resume until this season.

Hopefully for Donovan and St. Louis, his injury will not keep him out for an extended time. While it will be a tall task, and a lot of crazier things have happened in baseball, it is not mathematically impossible for the Cardinals to make a playoff run this year. However, they need to finish the season strong in order to do so.

If Donovan can make his return as soon as possible, then he could help put the Cardinals in a good position to make this happen. However, if not, then the team will most likely have to wait another year to have a shot at returning to the postseason.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 18, 2025, where it first appeared in the MLB section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Cardinals Announce Brendan Donovan News After Loss to Yankees

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