You’re Gonna Hate A Donovan Deal

[Red7]

If the Cardinals trade Brendan Donovan, the return will not even be close to the “haul” most of you are expecting. He is essentially a poor man’s Whit Merrifield. Merrifield had much better speed, had a better hit tool and could play CF. The Royals couldn’t trade him because they were better off keeping him, because as a trade chip, he didn’t have much value. Donovan is essentially a JAG. (As are guys like Nootbaar, Burleson, et al.). He’s not bringing back a #2 starter with control or a top prospect. The return will be a Tier 2, a Tier 3, and a lottery ticket.

[82birds]

what about Donovan plus?
part of a package

[CorneliusWolfe]

If the Cardinals trade Brendan Donovan, the return will not even be close to the “haul” most of you are expecting. He is essentially a poor man’s Whit Merrifield. Merrifield had much better speed, had a better hit tool and could play CF. The Royals couldn’t trade him because they were better off keeping him, because as a trade chip, he didn’t have much value. Donovan is essentially a JAG. (As are guys like Nootbaar, Burleson, et al.). He’s not bringing back a #2 starter with control or a top prospect. The return will be a Tier 2, a Tier 3, and a lottery ticket.

I’d say he’s the next level above a JAG…call it “solid”. He’ll reach the 10 year milestone as a good role player for a handful of teams but no one will commit long-term big money for him. He’ll have a few more seasons where he’s on the fringe of an all-star selection. Considering he only has two years of control, you’re probably right about the return. He’s worth more than Burleson and Nootbaar combined.

[craviduce]

There will be a bidding war for Donovan this offseason. You can count around 10-15 teams that could use him. If we keep him, I hope it's not a Fedde situation where his value plummets. I hope Bloom has the foresight to see this. Get that bidding war going, Bloom...get more than you should for Donovan.... One more thing...I doubt we get major league ready talent for Donovan. That would be a dumb trade....get prospects that could be ready by 2027.

Now...I agree that he won't fetch a #2 starter. And, honestly, I don't know many real fans that think he could fetch a #2 starter or anything close to that...the only person I've seen expecting that is our resident dunce, Shady...constantly assumes every player will get several rotation starters in return.

2 years at an affordable cost....teams will jump on that.

[craviduce]

what about Donovan plus?
part of a package

you trade Donovan on his own...

I know, 82birds, I feel you, you want a competitive team now. I get that....but Donovan shouldn't be packaged with anyone....that'll hurt our team's future in the worst way.

[ramfandan]

If the Cardinals trade Brendan Donovan, the return will not even be close to the “haul” most of you are expecting. He is essentially a poor man’s Whit Merrifield. Merrifield had much better speed, had a better hit tool and could play CF. The Royals couldn’t trade him because they were better off keeping him, because as a trade chip, he didn’t have much value. Donovan is essentially a JAG. (As are guys like Nootbaar, Burleson, et al.). He’s not bringing back a #2 starter with control or a top prospect. The return will be a Tier 2, a Tier 3, and a lottery ticket.

One big difference you overlooked. Merrifield was 33 years old when KC finally traded him . Donovan is 28 years old ( will call him 29 though as his 29th birthday is upcoming in January ) . A HUGE difference in baseball terms.

Merrifield retired at age 35. Teams wanting him in a trade knew they would be getting him for just two years most likely. Donovan has several years left in his career. Teams wanting a Donovan are NOT trading for a player in the twilight of his career .

[craviduce]

If the Cardinals trade Brendan Donovan, the return will not even be close to the “haul” most of you are expecting. He is essentially a poor man’s Whit Merrifield. Merrifield had much better speed, had a better hit tool and could play CF. The Royals couldn’t trade him because they were better off keeping him, because as a trade chip, he didn’t have much value. Donovan is essentially a JAG. (As are guys like Nootbaar, Burleson, et al.). He’s not bringing back a #2 starter with control or a top prospect. The return will be a Tier 2, a Tier 3, and a lottery ticket.

One big difference you overlooked. Merrifield was 33 years old when KC finally traded him . Donovan is 28 years old ( will call him 29 though as his 29th birthday is upcoming in January ) . A HUGE difference in baseball terms.

Merrifield retired at age 35. Teams wanting him in a trade knew they would be getting him for just two years most likely. Donovan has several years left in his career.

Donovan is an easy sell. You can't get around the 3 facts....29 with 2 more years of cheap control, highly versatile defensively, and good LHB.

He fits a lot of teams goals for this offseason.

Let's be realistic: he won't bring Current Starting MLB pitcher, nor Current Starting MLB Bats....we'll get prospects, and they'll be pretty decent ones...we should be grateful...b/c he want fetch that next season....this is the best time to trade him. We're not actively trying to compete the next few seasons....I'd try all winter to get a bidding war going....trade him around January.

[Carp4Cy]

what about Donovan plus?
part of a package

you trade Donovan on his own...

I know, 82birds, I feel you, you want a competitive team now. I get that....but Donovan shouldn't be packaged with anyone....that'll hurt our team's future in the worst way.

That depends on the deal doesn't it? Just having quantities of prospects doesn't produce wins. Developing the right prospects and keeping them helps, as well as signing/trading for the right vets. But trading prospects with more trade value than future production ability doesn't hurt our future at all. In the right package it could both help us now and in the future.

At what point do we begin to "spend" all the prospect capital we've been accumulating thru selling off at the end of 2023 and 2025? We can't use all the players we got in returns, and if we wait too long, some of them will lose all their value, like Drew Rom.

[Talkin' Baseball]

There will be a bidding war for Donovan this offseason. You can count around 10-15 teams that could use him. If we keep him, I hope it's not a Fedde situation where his value plummets. I hope Bloom has the foresight to see this. Get that bidding war going, Bloom...get more than you should for Donovan.... One more thing...I doubt we get major league ready talent for Donovan. That would be a dumb trade....get prospects that could be ready by 2027.

Now...I agree that he won't fetch a #2 starter. And, honestly, I don't know many real fans that think he could fetch a #2 starter or anything close to that...the only person I've seen expecting that is our resident dunce, Shady...constantly assumes every player will get several rotation starters in return.

2 years at an affordable cost....teams will jump on that.

Agree with this. Every contender needs a Donovan. Some of them have really good farm systems. Some of them have big payrolls (to keep him if they want to). Some of them have both. He has a position, but he is big-time injury insurance at so many positions. There will be many teams interested. There will be a good return.

[NYCardsFan]

There will be a bidding war for Donovan this offseason. You can count around 10-15 teams that could use him. If we keep him, I hope it's not a Fedde situation where his value plummets. I hope Bloom has the foresight to see this. Get that bidding war going, Bloom...get more than you should for Donovan.... One more thing...I doubt we get major league ready talent for Donovan. That would be a dumb trade....get prospects that could be ready by 2027.

Now...I agree that he won't fetch a #2 starter. And, honestly, I don't know many real fans that think he could fetch a #2 starter or anything close to that...the only person I've seen expecting that is our resident dunce, Shady...constantly assumes every player will get several rotation starters in return.

2 years at an affordable cost....teams will jump on that.

Yeah, I’m not sure why there would be much of a surprise here. Donovan’s been pretty consistent—a 3 fWAR player in each of the last two seasons, with the third-party models currently projecting roughly 3 WAR in 2026. That’s a solid starter. And especially useful from a versatile utility guy. Spotrac currently estimates his ARB-2 salary at $5.75mm. Now, that’s not “good, young, cost-controlled #2 starter” valuable, but it should fetch some decent prospects.

[craviduce]

what about Donovan plus?
part of a package

you trade Donovan on his own...

I know, 82birds, I feel you, you want a competitive team now. I get that....but Donovan shouldn't be packaged with anyone....that'll hurt our team's future in the worst way.

That depends on the deal doesn't it? Just having quantities of prospects doesn't produce wins. Developing the right prospects and keeping them helps, as well as signing/trading for the right vets. But trading prospects with more trade value than future production ability doesn't hurt our future at all. In the right package it could both help us now and in the future.

At what point do we begin to "spend" all the prospect capital we've been accumulating thru selling off at the end of 2023 and 2025? We can't use all the players we got in returns, and if we wait too long, some of them will lose all their value, like Drew Rom.

the 2023 trades have yielded what they're going to yield....Svanson, Saggese and eventually Roby (hopefully, knock on wood)...that's it. Rom and Robberse are probably both cut this offseason....or waived....w/e the vernacular you choose to believe. Robberse is definitely off the 40man. And Rom is around 20th inline on our 19 Top LHP prospect lists

Saggese, Svanson and a Hope on Roby....who do you sell b/c you believe their trade value now will outweigh their future production?

Me? I wouldn't trade Svanson. Probable closer or at least backend type. I would like a Svanson, Granillo, Gastelum backend of the BP by the end of 2026...that has some serious legs....and their trade value will likely only increase over the next 4 years.

Roby and Saggese....trade them...I get what you're suggesting/saying, they fit the scenario of value now vs. future production.

[Red7]

If the Cardinals trade Brendan Donovan, the return will not even be close to the “haul” most of you are expecting. He is essentially a poor man’s Whit Merrifield. Merrifield had much better speed, had a better hit tool and could play CF. The Royals couldn’t trade him because they were better off keeping him, because as a trade chip, he didn’t have much value. Donovan is essentially a JAG. (As are guys like Nootbaar, Burleson, et al.). He’s not bringing back a #2 starter with control or a top prospect. The return will be a Tier 2, a Tier 3, and a lottery ticket.

One big difference you overlooked. Merrifield was 33 years old when KC finally traded him . Donovan is 28 years old ( will call him 29 though as his 29th birthday is upcoming in January ) . A HUGE difference in baseball terms.

Merrifield retired at age 35. Teams wanting him in a trade knew they would be getting him for just two years most likely. Donovan has several years left in his career. Teams wanting a Donovan are NOT trading for a player in the twilight of his career .

That’s when Merrifield’s trade value matched his value to the Royals. When Merrifield was 28, the Royals COULD have traded him, but not received a package that would make them better.

[ScotchMIrish]

If the Cardinals trade Brendan Donovan, the return will not even be close to the “haul” most of you are expecting. He is essentially a poor man’s Whit Merrifield. Merrifield had much better speed, had a better hit tool and could play CF. The Royals couldn’t trade him because they were better off keeping him, because as a trade chip, he didn’t have much value. Donovan is essentially a JAG. (As are guys like Nootbaar, Burleson, et al.). He’s not bringing back a #2 starter with control or a top prospect. The return will be a Tier 2, a Tier 3, and a lottery ticket.

One big difference you overlooked. Merrifield was 33 years old when KC finally traded him . Donovan is 28 years old ( will call him 29 though as his 29th birthday is upcoming in January ) . A HUGE difference in baseball terms.

Merrifield retired at age 35. Teams wanting him in a trade knew they would be getting him for just two years most likely. Donovan has several years left in his career.

Donovan is an easy sell. You can't get around the 3 facts....29 with 2 more years of cheap control, highly versatile defensively, and good LHB.

He fits a lot of teams goals for this offseason.

Let's be realistic: he won't bring Current Starting MLB pitcher, nor Current Starting MLB Bats....we'll get prospects, and they'll be pretty decent ones...we should be grateful...b/c he want fetch that next season....this is the best time to trade him. We're not actively trying to compete the next few seasons....I'd try all winter to get a bidding war going....trade him around January.

I agree. If Bloom can't get something in return that doesn't bode well. I'm not sure it was a good idea to leak the fact he wanted to trade Donovan. In the case of Betts it was the owner who went public and then pulled it back. I don't think making it public helps get the best return. Perhaps better to act like you think highly of the guy and are reluctant to trade but would listen to offers.

[Mort Gage]

If the return includes a two-way AA player with the potential to lock down CF for 5-7 years I'm gonna love a Donovan deal.

[ecleme22]

If the Cardinals trade Brendan Donovan, the return will not even be close to the “haul” most of you are expecting. He is essentially a poor man’s Whit Merrifield. Merrifield had much better speed, had a better hit tool and could play CF. The Royals couldn’t trade him because they were better off keeping him, because as a trade chip, he didn’t have much value. Donovan is essentially a JAG. (As are guys like Nootbaar, Burleson, et al.). He’s not bringing back a #2 starter with control or a top prospect. The return will be a Tier 2, a Tier 3, and a lottery ticket.

One big difference you overlooked. Merrifield was 33 years old when KC finally traded him . Donovan is 28 years old ( will call him 29 though as his 29th birthday is upcoming in January ) . A HUGE difference in baseball terms.

Merrifield retired at age 35. Teams wanting him in a trade knew they would be getting him for just two years most likely. Donovan has several years left in his career.

Donovan is an easy sell. You can't get around the 3 facts....29 with 2 more years of cheap control, highly versatile defensively, and good LHB.

He fits a lot of teams goals for this offseason.

Let's be realistic: he won't bring Current Starting MLB pitcher, nor Current Starting MLB Bats....we'll get prospects, and they'll be pretty decent ones...we should be grateful...b/c he want fetch that next season....this is the best time to trade him. We're not actively trying to compete the next few seasons....I'd try all winter to get a bidding war going....trade him around January.

I agree. If Bloom can't get something in return that doesn't bode well. I'm not sure it was a good idea to leak the fact he wanted to trade Donovan. In the case of Betts it was the owner who went public and then pulled it back. I don't think making it public helps get the best return. Perhaps better to act like you think highly of the guy and are reluctant to trade but would listen to offers.

Lol. There is zero correlation to say you’re listening to trade offers and how highly you think of a player.

Most trades occur based on the position of the team, not feelings toward a player…

[juan good eye]

Kinda disagree

BD should be traded this offseason to a contender for 2-3 of their top prospects (not current MLB players). What those prospects turn into 3-5 years from now — that is the fun of it.