The New York Yankees just watched as Trent Grisham accepted their $22 million qualifying offer, so if they re-sign Cody Bellinger, they will ultimately be running it back with the same lineup next season.

Or will they?

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com has reported that the Yankees have expressed trade interest in St. Louis Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan, who is expected by many to get dealt this winter.

"The Cardinals figure to be the most active team on the trade market this winter, with Donovan, Nolan Arenado (more on him shortly) and Sonny Gray all prime candidates to be dealt," Feinsand wrote. "The Astros, Yankees and Guardians are among the teams believed to have interest in the 28-year-old, giving the Cardinals multiple options to pursue."

Donovan is definitely an intriguing candidate for the Yankees.

The 28-year-old made his first All-Star appearance in 2025 after slashing .287/.353/.422 with 10 home runs and 50 RBI over 515 plate appearances.

While he spent most of his time at second base this past season, Donovan is capable of playing any position other than catcher and center field. He isn't particularly adept at any one position in particular, but that versatility obviously has value.

The question is, where would New York fit Donovan into its lineup?

Assuming the Yanks keep Jazz Chisholm at second base and Ryan McMahon at third, there really would be no clear path to regular playing time for Donovan unless they just used him at a bunch of different positions when they want to rest certain players throughout the season.

Donovan would actually represent a pretty clear offensive upgrade over McMahon at the hot corner, so perhaps the Yankees could then flip McMahon elsewhere. Of course, New York would also be sacrificing a whole lot of defense in that scenario.

Since entering the big leagues in 2022, Donovan has slashed .282/.361/.411. The power numbers obviously aren't ideal, but he is a left-hander hitter, so perhaps he could tag some more homers over the short right-field porch in Yankee Stadium.

Plus, you do have to love Donovan's 9.1 percent walk rate, and for the "anti-strikeout" Yankees fans, Donovan only whiffs 13.5 percent of the time, as well.

The Germany native is under team control through 2027, so couple that with the fact that he just made an All-Star team, and Donovan certainly wouldn't come cheap.

New York definitely has the goods to put together an enticing package for Donovan, but the Yanks may also want to try and complete a trade for a frontline starting pitcher, so they would have to be careful about how much they would include in a potential trade for Donovan.