5 best fits for Brendan Donovan as Cardinals near end of his trade saga

#4 - San Francisco Giants

Buster Posey wants to get the San Francisco Giants back to being a contender in the National League, and adding a winning player like Brendan Donovan would be a great step in that direction.

According to a recent report by Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Giants are one of the teams most aggressively pursuing Donovan in the trade market right now, so a deal between the two sides feels like one of the more likely outcomes at this point. The Giants are pretty right-handed heavy in their lineup right now, so adding Donovan to their mix would help balance out an offense that features Rafael Devers, Matt Chapman, Jung Hoo Lee, Heliot Ramos, Bryce Eldridge, and Willy Adames.

The Giants made a splash earlier this offseason by hiring University of Tennessee coach Tony Vitello to be their new manager, and Vitello feels like the kind of manager who would love to have a Donovan around. Donovan is a culture builder, a hard worker, and someone who does all of the little things right, and he's capable of being one of the best players on this Giants roster as they push the Dodgers in the National League West.

Two names have been reported as coming up in negotiations between the Giants and the Cardinals, and that is 2025 first-round pick Gavin Kilen and left-handed pitcher Carson Whisenhunt. Kilen would be an interesting infield prospect to target with his bat-to-ball skills, and Whisenhunt is MLB-ready with some nice stuff from the left side.

Personally, I'd likely prefer one of their other pitching prospects like Jacob Bresnahan or Keyner Martinez over a Whisenhunt, as both have plus stuff that can lead to mid-rotation upside long-term. Bresnahan is a lefty with a plus fastball and changeup to mix with an average slider and above-average control, and while he's still pretty far from a MLB debut, he fits the Cardinals' long-term contention timeline.

Martinez is also a ways away from a debut, but his plus fastball and sweeper fit the mold of what misses bats in today's game. His fastball got a tremendous 25.5% whiff rate in 2025, and the sweeper is a major swing-and-miss tool as well. If his change-up can move into being an average pitch, there is a ton of upside here.

Other names to watch include outfielder Dakota Jordan, who has big-time power from the right side of the plate, and Bo Davidson, another powerful bat in the outfield who has a chance to stick in center field. The Giants have a lot of interesting options to offer St. Louis, so we'll see if this is who they ultimately match up with.