We know the rebuild is underway for the St. Louis Cardinals, but the big remaining question is how wide-reaching that rebuild will be.

After shipping starting pitcher Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox last week, the Cardinals have a number of interesting trade candidates on the position player side. But the biggest prize for an opposing team would be second baseman Brendan Donovan.

Donovan has been an extremely solid two-way player for his first four years in the league, and his positional versatility will only make him more attractive. So where does his market currently stand?

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Insider talks Donovan trade possibility

On Tuesday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today placed Donovan ninth on his list of Top 10 trade candidates for the rest of the offseason, while indicating that although the Cardinals aren’t yet sure they’ll trade him, the odds are at least decent.

“The Cardinals’ rebuild began last week with the trade of Sonny Gray, and before spring training, will dump Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado, who plans to waive his full no-trade clause,” wrote Nightengale.

“Yet, their biggest trade piece will be Donovan, their All-Star who can play second base, shortstop and the outfield, with two more years of club control.”

In 118 games this season, Donovan batted a career-best .287 and put up a very healthy 119 OPS+. He settled in more at second base than previously in his career, when he had a hefty dose of left field duties mixed into his workload. He also had surgery to remove a sports hernia after hitting the injured list in August with a groin strain.

Assuming Donovan is in good shape to play at full speed by the time spring training comes around, it’s easy to envision him netting the Cardinals a strong package of multiple top prospects.

However, trading one expensive year of Gray is much different than trading two cheap years of Donovan, so if the Cardinals do the latter, one can expect that it will be at least a couple of seasons before they’re in the playoff mix again.