The Boston Red Sox have continued to remain engaged in free agency and trade discussions the entire offseason.
Throughout the winter, Boston has rumored to be involved in free agent discussions with third baseman Alex Bregman and shortstop Bo Bichette.
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The Red Sox added to their starting rotation by acquiring starting pitcher Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals. The two clubs made a second trade later in the offseason after Boston acquired first baseman/catcher Willson Contreras from St. Louis. The pair of deals saw current Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom make deals with his former team.
According to a recent report, St. Louis and the Red Sox could be gearing up for another trade in the near future.
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According to a story from Nick Deeds of MLB TradeRumors (via a report from Alex Speier of the Boston Globe), Boston is looking to add more infield help and is currently focused on adding second baseman/outfielder Brendan Donovan from the Cardinals.
Donovan has arguably been the biggest player named in trade conversations this winter. He’s been linked to several teams, with the Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants being reported as the favorites to land him.
Donovan is coming off his first career All-Star game this past season. He slashed .287/.353/.422 with a .775 OPS and hit 32 doubles and 10 home runs with 50 RBIs.
Donovan has a career wRC+ (weighted runs created-plus) of 119, which is 19% above league average, and a career OPS of .772.
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Donovan is under arbitration through 2027 with some of the best in-zone contact numbers in baseball. He has the ability to play second base or the outfield. His defensive versatility, relative cost-effectiveness and team control has had several teams reach out for his services.
In addition to the Mariners, Red Sox and Giants — the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Guardians are other teams who have been connected to Donovan.
The Cardinals are in the middle of a top-to-bottom rebuild being overseen by Bloom. The club has garnered immediate contributors to the starting rotation through their two trades with Boston, including Richard Fitts and Hunter Dobbins. The team has also received several prospects in various deals.
St. Louis has several options when it comes to a potential Donovan deal. He’s a rare All-Star that is cheap and on the trade block. Given those factors, any potential deal seeing Donovan getting moved could net the Cardinals the biggest return of any of their trades this offseason.
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