Brendan Donovan's toe injury has derailed career year for the Cardinals' All-Star

The St. Louis Cardinals finally placed All-Star second baseman Brendan Donovan on the injured list earlier today, but one could argue that the decision is long overdue.

Not just because of the recent stretch where Donovan has been unavailable due to a new groin injury (which is what landed him on the injured list), but because of the massive dip in production we have seen from Donovan this summer following his initial toe injury that has continued to linger as the year has gone on.

For much of the first half, Donovan was the Cardinals' best player, leading them offensively and providing his usual value as a defensive Swiss army knife on a day-to-day basis. On June 11th, though, Donovan left the game with a toe injury, and the injury has lingered throughout the summer as he has been in the Cardinals' lineup.

Donovan recently told reporters that his groin injury may have been caused by the toe issue, as losing some motion there possibly led to the new issues he's experiencing.

Decisions to go on the injured list are multifaceted. The Cardinals' trainers will provide their opinions on a player's health, the player gives input on how they are feeling, and the coaching staff and front office must take all of that into account as they decide whether to allow a player to play through the injury or push them toward an IL stint. I have no idea how any of those conversations have gone, but what I do know is that Donovan's numbers took a nosedive since that injury occurred.

Brendan Donovan's toe injury seems to have derailed what was an awesome season for the Cardinals' All-Star.

Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Donovan has set the world on fire offensively just to see an injury come in and rob him of putting it together over the course of a full season. During the summer of 2023, Donovan had a significant flexor strain that caused him to have a season-ending surgery in August, but he did play for over a month as a full-time designated hitter and continued to produce offensively at a high level.

I'm not sharing that to say Donovan is some injury-prone player, but I do feel for him, as he's had two injuries significantly impact his performance during big moments of his individual career. This time around, Donovan played through the injury but was not limited to just DH opportunities, and he was unable to keep producing at the plate like he had before.

Hopefully, this is a brief IL stint for Donovan, but at this point, getting him back to himself has to be priority number one. The Cardinals need the best version of Donovan, not 60% of himself production-wise. I don't think it's a coincidence that as Donovan's production fell off, so did the Cardinals' season. That's not to blame him; it's to say he's vital to their on-field success, and I do now wonder whether they made a mistake not putting him on the IL much sooner to potentially resolve this issue.