Cardinals Trade Talks with Giants about Donovan Stalled? Red Sox Now Focus?

I can’t remember the last time I saw so much news about a trade that hasn’t happened yet. The ongoing saga of the St. Louis Cardinals possibly trading Brendan Donovan has now taken another turn or two and there’s no immediate end in sight as the talks with the San Francisco Giants have apparently stalled while the Red Sox focus is now on Brendan.

There are a lot of new chapters to this story so let’s begin with a new report from Katie Woo and Will Sammon from The Athletic that says trade talks between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants regarding Brendan Donovan have stalled. The Giants were willing (allegedly) to offer the Cardinals Carson Whisenhunt and last year’s first-round draft pick Gavin Kilen. It appears that wasn’t enough for the Cardinals.

Meanwhile in Boston, Alex Speier says the Red Sox are now focused primarily on coming up with a package that will bring Brendan Donovan onboard. MLB Trade Rumors categorizes Brendan as “a fifth infielder the Red Sox are currently focused on”. I’ve seen either Payton Tolle or Kyson Witherspoon thrown out as pitching prospects that might be available. It’s known that the Cardinals are also looking for a right-handed bat so it’s possible that St. Louis might ask for one of the many exciting Red Sox up-and-comers. The Red Sox wouldn’t be willing to let go of Jhostynxon Garcia, Justin Gonzales, Franklin Arias or Miguel Bleis would they? I haven’t heard any specific names other than the pitchers speculated on as the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox continue their talks.

You can’t rule out the Seattle Mariners yet in the Brendan Donovan sweepstakes. A report earlier this week said the Mariners were reluctant to deal from their major league pitching staff, but are willing to include Jurrangelo Cijntje in a package for Donovan. Many are excited about that possibility and I am among them. Depends on what other prospect the Mariners would be willing to include in this deal.

Adding to the hot stove intrigue is a report today from MLB Trade Rumors that the Arizona Diamondbacks are close to removing a potential trade for Ketel Marte from the market. GM Mike Hazen called a Marte trade “mostly unlikely” and went on to add that this discussion will not last all of the off-season. The 45-day posting window for Kazuma Okamoto also ends this Friday, January 2 at 4p central time which means another infielder option will soon be off the table.

Are we close to the finish line in this Brendan Donovan trade drama? Only Chaim Bloom and his team know for sure, but there certainly are some interesting players that could be in the mix and I think we’re gonna have closure sooner rather than later.