Chaim Bloom's genius shows again as Cardinals sold popular player at the right time

The St. Louis Cardinals were expected to go through a rebuild this year after Chaim Bloom dealt several veterans from the clubhouse, but the season has been anything but painful so far. The hardest part of the year was when Bloom made the decision to trade those players, but the one that hurt most might have actually been his best move. Since trading Brendan Donovan to the Mariners, the popular utilityman has been fighting through injuries, just like he did to end his tenure in St. Louis.

While trading Donovan was met with a 50/50 fan split, it made the most sense to sell high on the fan favorite, especially considering the return that came to the Cardinals from Seattle. Bloom was able to pry outfielder Tai Peete, switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje, outfielder Colton Ledbetter, and two competitive balance picks from the Mariners in exchange for Donnie and even with that stellar return, the real win came from the playing time in the infield. Even though Donovan was able to play all over the field, if he stuck around this year, there would have been a logjam on the roster as everyone fought for playing time.

Brendan Donovan's injury issues and JJ Wetherholt's success make the Cardinals look like geniuses

In an alternate universe where Bloom decided to hold onto Donovan, the 26-man roster for the 2026 Cardinals could look completely different. Last year, Donovan spent 100 games at second base with a handful at short and another 18 in the outfield. This year, the Cardinals' rookie has played 47 games at the keystone despite seeing some time at short and third in the minors. If Donovan were to stick around, manager Oli Marmol would have quite the lineup conundrum as he would have to find ways to get Donovan, Wetherholt, Nolan Gorman, Nathan Church, and Victor Scott II in the lineup.

Because of that, it would not be out of the realm of possibilities that the Cardinals would have waited on Wetherholt's promotion to the bigs or put Donovan at third base, the only position he has played while in Seattle. Donovan was never a great defender at third but that alignment would have put Gorman in limbo yet again. While Gorman may still be underwhelming with the bat, his defense has taken a step forward and he is getting the unencumbered runway he deserves in this fact-finding season. It is also possible, though, that the injury that cost Donnie time in St. Louis would have created more roster issues as Donovan has hit the injured list for the second time already this year.

The injury appears to be related to the toe issue and surgery he had last season, once again showing Bloom's masterclass in dealing damaged goods to a team in need. When he was healthy, Donovan was playing well, but he has cooled off to simply being the solid player we knew and loved in St. Louis. Donovan's most recent stint on the IL created an opportunity for the Mariners to call up top prospect Colt Emerson, who could also cloud the Seattle defensive alignment when Donovan returns to full strength.

Without Donovan in the lineup, the Cardinals have hardly missed a step but his personality and leadership could have been having some fun with the recent energy that has been injected back into Busch Stadium. It is still a bummer to not see his lucious locks flowing every time he ran the bases, but the trade of Brendan Donovan was always the right move to make. Now due to injury, the fans that were still out on the deal may be inching back towards the thought that Chaim Bloom made out like a bandit.

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