5 potential trade locations for St. Louis Cardinals Brendan Donovan

Arizona Diamondbacks

You might wonder why the Arizona Diamondbacks are on this list. That's a good question! The Diamondbacks have Ketel Marte, a player who finished third in NL MVP voting last year and followed it up with a 2025 season that included him being an All-Star, winning a Silver Slugger, and posting a 4.4-bWAR season. Marte is one of the best second basemen in baseball, so it's reasonable to question Arizona's inclusion on this list.

The Diamondbacks fit because there's an outside chance that Marte is dealt. The Diamondbacks would consider trading Marte to beef up a battered rotation and get some financial relief — Ketel is owed $92 million over the next five years. A player of Marte's caliber could bring back a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher like Joe Ryan, MacKenzie Gore, or Freddy Peralta.

Arizona would assuredly want to backfill Marte's void, and Brendan Donovan would be a fitting replacement. There's certainly a gap between Ketel Marte and Brendan Donovan, but Donnie is no slouch. He'll bring a low strikeout rate and a penchant for getting on base that made Marte so valuable to the D-Backs.

Third baseman Eugenio Suarez is also a free agent for Arizona after a strong year at the hot corner. Trading for Brendan Donovan would replace Suarez in theory.

The Diamondbacks aren't looking to trade from their rotation given the dearth of options they already have there. Chaim Bloom could dip into Arizona's prospect reserves for a return package, and there isn't a pitcher more fitting for a trade to St. Louis than left-handed pitcher Kohl Drake. Drake finished 2025 with a 4.23 ERA and 106 strikeouts across 89.1 innings. He gave up 10 home runs, but Drake has also shown improvements in stuff over the years. He boasts plus control with a solid fastball-curveball combination.

There would have to be dominoes that fall before Brendan Donovan goes to Arizona, but they're certainly a dark-horse candidate to acquire the Gold Glove utility man.