Division rival's huge trade zapped surprise Brendan Donovan suitor from Cardinals

When it comes to the Major League Baseball offseason, anytime a free agent signing or a trade happens, it can have a ripple effect on other areas of the market. Sometimes those are clear and obvious, while other times, due to the nature of sleeper teams and quiet negotiations, the market can shift in unexpected ways.

With that being said, I don't think any of us expected the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets to have an impact on Brendan Donovan's trade market for the St. Louis Cardinals!

According to the New York Post's Joel Sherman, the Mets' busy week actually ended up pivoting them away from being trade partners for Donvoan. When they missed out on Kyle Tucker in free agency, they were able to pivot to Bo Bichette, adding him to their infield to complete the overhaul they did there this offseason, which then allowed them to take trade assets and add Freddy Peralta in another blockbuster move. Sherman said that had the Mets not landed Bichette and Peralta, they would have been calling the Cardinals to acquire Brendan Donovan.

The Bo Bichette signing and Freddy Peralta trade took the Mets out of the Brendan Donovan sweepstakes.

If you have been following the Donovan trade saga this offseason, the Mets are not a team that was linked to the Cardinals for Donovan before. Teams like the Seattle Mariners, San Fransicio Giants, Boston Red Sox, and Kansas City Royals have dominated headlines, but apparently the Mets had been lurking.

It is not known what the Mets would have been willing to part ways with for Donovan, but they did send two of their top prospects, infielder Jett Williams and right-handed pitcher Brandon Sproat, to get the deal done for Peralta and swingman Tobias Meyers. I'm sure the package would have looked at least a bit different, as although Donovan has one more year of control compared to Peralta, the 29-year-old right-hander was fifth in Cy Young voting in 2025.

As spring training draws near, teams are feeling the pressure to get deals done, and having a suitor like the Mets going after Donovan could have helped accelerate his market, even if he did not end up going to New York. Had the Philadelphia Phillies secured Bichette like they had hoped to or another club, Donovan may have ended up with the Mets in a trade, and the Brewers may still be holding onto Peralta.