According to a report Saturday night from Katie Woo of The Athletic, the San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners have emerged as the leaders in the trade talks for St. Louis Cardinals utility standout Brendan Donovan.

Woo said the Cardinals are engaged with both teams and are discussing high-end prospect packages.

About Donovan

Now 28 years old, Donovan will turn 29 in January. A four-year veteran of the Cardinals, he hit .287 in 2025 with 10 homers and 50 RBIs. He had a .353 on-base percentage, a 119 OPS+ and was named an All-Star. He's a career .282 hitter who had only a 13.0 percent strikeout rate this past season. All of baseball is looking to improve upon its strikeout prevention rate, which helps make Donovan an attractive trade option.

He has two years left of team control and can play all over the diamond. He spent 100 games at second base, 18 in left field, six at shortstop and two at designated hitter and was named a finalist for the Silver Slugger Award at the utility position, losing out to teammate Alec Burleson.

How would the Mariners and Giants use him?

That's not really the concern of the Cardinals, but he'd figure to play mostly second base in San Francisco. Seattle could use him there in a split with Cole Young (if Young isn't traded to St. Louis in the deal), and they could also use him at designated hitter after missing out on Jorge Polanco on Saturday.

What do the Cardinals want?

According to Woo, the Cardinals want at least two organizational prospects in return.

Who are they talking about?

Woo mentions Mariners prospects Jurrangelo Cijtnje and Lazaro Montes as two names being talked about. Cijntje, the switch-pitcher, is the No. 7 prospect in Seattle's organization and part of the MLB Top 100. Montes is also in the Top 100 and ranks as Seattle's No. 3 prospect.

It's unclear if the Cardinals could get both of them in the same deal or if they'd be the headliner of their own separate deal.

With the Cardinals, Woo mentions infielder Gavin Kilen and pitcher Carson Whisenhunt. Kilen is the No. 3 prospect for the Giants while Wilenhunt is No. 7.

Possible timing?

A deal could go down any time, but there could be some urgency to get a deal done before the Christmas holiday. Generally, there is not much activity between Christmas and the start of the new year, so if there's not a deal in the next 10 days, there might not be one until early 2026.

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