The Dodgers are trying to swipe another key member of the Cardinals' core

As the St. Louis Cardinals approach a critical trade deadline that will likely shape the direction of the organization for years to come, teams are calling John Mozeliak asking about the availability of 2025 All-Star Brendan Donovan, and now the favorite to win the World Series is wanting to get a deal for him done.

As if they weren't already loaded enough, the Los Angeles Dodgers are interested in acquiring Brendan Donovan, multiple league sources have told The Athletic's Katie Woo and Fabian Ardaya.

The Los Angeles Dodgers want to upgrade their outfield by acquiring Cardinals All-Star Brendan Donovan

Yes, those Los Angeles Dodgers view Donovan as the key to upgrading their offense at this year's trade deadline, but they'll have to convince the Cardinals to part ways with one of the key members of their core and the leader of their clubhouse.

Donovan is having a career year with St. Louis, posting a .296/.364/.433 slash line with nine home runs and 42 RBI, good for a 125 wRC+ and 2.5 fWAR so far. He's been one of the most valuable utility players in all of baseball since debuting in 2022, and with two years of club control remaining beyond this season, the Cardinals aren't going to let him out the door without a massive return. This would come one year after the Dodgers grabbed Tommy Edman from the Cardinals in the three-team deal that brought Erick Fedde to St. Louis, and Edman went on to win NLCS MVP with the Dodgers.

To this point, there hasn't been any confirmation that the Cardinals are willing to part with Donovan, but there have been plenty of teams reportedly interested in acquiring him. Both John Denton and Jon Heyman reported the Houston Astros' interest in Donovan, and Heyman mentioned that the New York Yankees and several other clubs would be interested in Donovan if he is available.

I totally understand the Cardinals listening to trade offers on any player right now — that's what good front offices — but I personally would be against trading Donovan. Every player has a price, and the Dodgers could certaintly meet that one, but I would also be concerned about losing Donovan's leadership and influence on this young ballclub. Yes, the Cardinals need to get better as a baseball team long term, but it sure helps to have really good players who are also really strong leaders, and Donovan is that.

According to Ardaya and Woo, the Dodgers have been reluctant to discuss their top position player prospects, catcher Dalton Rushing and shortstop Alex Freeland, in deals thus far, but the Dodgers do have plenty of other intriguing prospects, including Futures Game MVP outfielder Josue De Paula, fellow outfielders Zyhir Hope, Mike Sirota, and Eduardo Quintero, as well as pitching prospects Jackson Ferris and River Ryan and young controllable arms like Bobby Miller, Justin Wrobleski, Nick Frasso, Landon Knack, and many others.

The Dodgers are an organization that could easily overwhelm the Cardinals with an offer, but the question remains how aggressive Los Angeles wants to get in trade talks and how open Chaim Bloom is to moving on from Donovan. Ultimately, Bloom has to be the one to make the call on the future of key players like Donovan, and Bloom may want to take a massive offer for Donovan to help shape the future of the club in his own image.