Giants insanely good trade offer may soon be pivoted to Cardinals for Brendan Donovan

Another day, another potential Brendan Donovan suitor striking out on an alternative plan for their 2026 infield. If the San Francisco Giants are willing to include this star prospect in a Donovan deal as well, then the St. Louis Cardinals may be shipping their All-Star second baseman to the Bay Area here soon.

According to a report from The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly, the Giants were open to including teenage shortstop prospect Josuar Gonzalez in a trade package for Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams, but the Nationals are playing hardball and won't a. Gonzalez was just ranked as the 30th best prospect in all of baseball according to Baseball America and would be a huge get for the Cardinals' farm system.

The Giants have been reported to have strong interest in Donovan this offseason, and so they could pivot to St. Louis with a similar trade package.

If the Giants are willing to put Josuar Gonzalez in Brendan Donovan trade talks, the Cardinals may have a deal

As Baggarly noted in the story, the Giants turned up their aggression in trade talks to try and get something done before players report to spring training here in a few weeks. This wasn't an offer they've been dangling out there all offseason, but rather a symptom of the pressure to get a deal done soon.

Chaim Bloom has been steadfast in his price for Brendan Donovan all offseason, hoping and believing that a suitor would come and meet that asking price at some point. At Winter Warm-Up this past weekend, Bloom made it clear that the closer we get to camp, the less likely a deal is, but that he would not be closing the door on trade talks if a team is willing to give the Cardinals what they want.

Gonzalez, according to Baseball America, has plus-plus run and fielding tools to go along with a plus arm, and at just age-18, he is already showing an above-average hit tool and average power. If he continues to develop at the plate, we are looking at a star-level talent in the making.

Gonzalez turned 18 this offseason and spent his entire age 17 season in the DSL, where he posted a .288/.404/.455 slsah line in 228 plate appearances. Prospects this far away from debuting have so much risk attached to them, which is why Baseball America gave him a 65-grade with high risk as a prospect and an adjusted 50 grade as a result.

Just a few weeks ago, Jeff Passan of MLB.com reiterated the Giants' continued pursuit of an upgrade at second base, mentioning that San Francisco had been having talks with both the Cardinals and Cubs about Donovan and Nico Hoerner. So while it is hard to say for sure if the Giants would be willing to send a similar offer to the Cardinals for Donovan, it is widely known that they've been aggressive in their pursuit of him as well.

Abrams has one additional year of club control compared to Donovan, and while he has flashed many times the potential to be an even better player than the Cardinals' All-Star, he's still a 97 wRC+ player in his career compared to Donovan's 119 wRC+. Both players debuted in 2022, and Donovan has far outpaced Abrams in fWAR (10.1 fWAR for Donovan to Abrams' 6.9 fWAR) despite playing in a lot fewer games (Donovan has played in 492 G compared to Abrams' 523 G).

Abrams is just 25 years old and does play shortstop, but again, both players have logged over 2000 plate appearances in their careers, and Donovan has been the far better player both at the plate and in the field. If the Giants were willing to be that aggressive for Abrams, you would think they'd at least have similar aggression in Donovan talks.

This is why Bloom has been patient in his approach with Donovan all offseason. If a team like the Giants continues to strikeout on the trade market in an attempt to fill their second base void, their aggression may continue to rise (like it has), and it could end up meaning the Cardinals get that offer they can't refuse. The Boston Red Sox find themselves in a similar place right nowdesperately looking for a second baseman, and we all know the Seattle Mariners continue to be heavily linked to Donovan as well.