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In his first four seasons in St. Louis, Brendan Donovan has posted 11.1 bWAR and 2 Defensive Runs Saved with one All Star appearance and a Top 3 finish in Rookie of the Year voting. Donovan has posted an OPS+ of 117 depite an OPS of .772 in 492 games.
In his first four seasons in St. Louis, Paul DeJong posted 11.1 bWAR and 28 Defensive Runs Saved with one All Star appearance and a Top 2 finish in Rookie of the Year voting. DeJong had posted an OPS+ of only 105 with an OPS of .774 in 427 games, including the shortened 2020 season.
Donovan and DeJong are contrasting players, Donovan a contact hitter with low strikeout rates and DeJong a power hitter with high strikeout rates. Defensive metrics loved DeJong but only the versatile Donovan won a Gold Glove.
DeJong had more holes than Swiss cheese in his swing….anybody that watched both in St Louis knows Donovan is a much better player.
DeJong gained WAR value due to his positional adjustment as a solid to often just slightly above average shortstop. But there’s no question that Donovan is the better hitter of the two and it’s not even close.
Winn vs DeJong is closer than Donovan / DeJong.
Winn is wrecking his offensive numbers hunting fastballs inside. He fancies himself as a power hitter same as PDJ did. Winn’s defensive numbers are bloated by position too. If Winn can’t fix his approach at the plate, I’ll pass on extending him as a glove first SS.
There’s too much noise in WARd D metrics. I’m ok with the positional adjustments. The defensive spectrum has always existed for good reason.
The fielding runs have too much noise and Winn/DeJong is just another example.
Winn’s career fielding runs:
BR: -1, 14, 2
FG: -2.5, 2, 14.4The can’t even agree on his best season, and the range their runs fluctuate from season to season…… It’s hard to buy-in to PDJ best season of 24 runs, when he next career best is 6, twice. That’s a 1.8war spike, defensively.
Donovan for…..
JJ I agree Winn needs to change his approach at the plate, and I think he will. But still, he’s better than anyone we’ve had since Edgar, and that’s a long time. Pay the man. BPOT right now.
Correct KCB. Winn needs to be our SS for the next decade. I could see him, Burly, and maybe Herrera getting long term extensions.
We can hope. I just found out Arenado went from 20 fielding runs to zero, from one season to the next (22’& 23′). See, I missed that. Lucky I have Dwar.
If true then an alternative to Donnie is off the board.
The Diamondbacks are pulling superstar 2B Ketel Marte off the trade block. He’s staying in Arizona.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 9, 2026
That’s good news for Chaim. Now the folks who are thinking they can trade the same prospects for Marte that they would have for Donovan are left holding the bag. I’m ok if they don’t trade Donovan, but I think there’s a better chance that they get the return they want now.
I am in full support and think it is very unwise to not trade him at this point when you have an asset like that and the two years that he’s left here will likely be a non-difference maker, why on gods green earth wouldn’t you try to maximize value? That is where the past regime severely failed.
Keep in mind when they are opening their window of contention in hopefully 2028, he will be a free agent, perhaps he will be able to be resigned and brought back. Hopefully CB is treating him respectfully and honestly to leave that door open.The extreme lack of any speculation the last week or so does have me worried that asking prices are just to extreme and teams have thrown in the towel on acquiring Donnie.
I’m still holding out hope for River Ryan and Morales or Sirota and a wild card for Donnie and Jojo.
That’s a fair deal for both sides. Their BP was what almost cost them (then won them) the WS in 2025.-
Cardinals Insider Adds Another Team To Brendan Donovan Chase.
Another “insider” proposing another team to be a trade partner. It seems the Calgary Flames have been searching for a goaltender and willing to pay in cash to acquire Donny. There’s another rumor circulating around that the Arizona Cardinals are looking for a punter and Donovan’s name has come up.
Well that’s it for today.
Oh yeah….. Don’t trade Donovan.
The Dbacks made a good move with the Marte announcement, IMO. I get the desire to float a player on the trade market, but when the New Year begins, it is time for players to get ready for spring training. It is stressful for the player and his family to be in limbo for months on end. And this is one of your leaders, not a back-end of the roster guy.
Bloom needs to tell teams to make their best and final offer and decide one way or the other.
I guess the flip side is what Bloom has been doing, allowing trade talk to remain fluid, the norm for anyone they listen on.
What is the advantage of a final offer ultimatum?
The advantage for the team is to salvage the relationship with their best player. It shouldn’t always be about money.
I am accepting at face value the Cardinals assertion that they would only trade Donovan for an exceptional offer. He knows what has been going on in the press. I believe they owe it to him to get him out of the news. That is the advantage for him.
Donny was involved in trade rumors before Contreras was signed. He has watched our past arb players traded away as the norm. He, Noot and JoJo understand their fate. They can see no-one gets an extension.
Teams will start running out of budget funds near the end of free agency. Donny’s affordable salary will compound his value. I hope the FO is still listening at that time.
I would hope that they spoke with Donovan and made it very clear that they would only trade him if they get a great return. I see no reason to close the door on an opportunity to help set the club up for future prosperity. They just need to keep Donovan in the loop and stroke his ego.
I’m going by memory on some of this and don’t feel like checking my facts, but last year Mo and co. Lowballed Donovan in arb. Plus whatever rhetoric was involved with their reasoning. Donovan super upset. Later Cardinals approach Donovan about an extension. Donovan not interested. There doesn’t appear to be a path to him being extended. So it’s in the Cardinals best interest to move him anytime between now and the trade deadline. They aren’t competing at least for this year. There is a price to be paid for the life changing money players make. The real possibility of being uprooted from the community they are part of is one of them.
The best business move is to keep Donovan available in trade as he has been for over three months already.
I just don’t think that continuing the uncertainty indefinitely is the best move for Donovan individually or for the team. As TLR famously said, “They are men, not machines.”
Bloom started off his POBO stint well from a player relations perspective by avoiding contentious arbitration hearings with all seven eligible players. He also moved Gray and Contreras quickly while treating the veterans with respect. Whether they agreed or disagreed personally, their teammates surely noticed how the dirty work was handled cleanly.
Relationships matter.
When you come to this forum and occasionally disagree with the boss, you don’t get blowback.
Differing opinions make this the best Cardinal site, because they are welcomed. Hat-Tip Brian.
I will say this-any good will we can spread around is smart. Treating players fairly is good business. I’ve had both kinds of bosses. I know who got the most bang for the buck out of me. But sometimes tough decisions have to be made.
I’m not a fan of Manfred but I do agree with his idea of a winter FA and trade deadline. These things drag on all winter and creates no buzz for MLB. Of the course the MLBPA is opposed to the idea because they feel it would suppress contract amounts if the player was forced to sign at a certain time. That may be true but I still don’t see why there couldn’t be a winter trade deadline. Make it January 1.
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