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All of this comes crashing down if Wetherholt struggles in ST and doesnt make the club. Then we are left with Saggese and Fermin at 2B

over on the Mariners board, they are stoked to be getting Donovan.
They should be !

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 18:02 pm

imyourhuckleberry wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:57 pm

alw80 wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:51 pm

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:48 pm

Absolut wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:45 pm

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:43 pm

alw80 wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:40 pm

82birds wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:39 pm

icon wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:37 pm There may be a carnival barker outside Busch yelling: "Come and see it -- the man who pitches with both arms!"

Knowing the Cardinals and the marketing aspect, they will forbid him from giving up pitching with both arms. Remember the Navy guy who was here just because he was a Navy guy? And Nootbaar, the guy with the cute name in they hang on to forever and a day.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

I disagree strongly with your last sentence.

Yep, Bloom has done more positive for the franchise in a few months than Mo had done in the last 10 years.

What great positive has he done other than clearing BDW payroll obligations for question marks.
What player out of this offseason trade return is anyone confident being a solid MLB starter?

Prefer adding an Erik Fedde and calling it a winter?

I prefer getting some stud players…….is this asking too much…..middling rehab projects fits in well to this organizations overall losing mentality

What studs were available for BD?

GF was asked the same question when he was whining about the return in the Gray trade, whining about the return in the Contrerras trade and whining about the return in the Arenado trade. He had no answers then, he'll have no answers now.

He just wants to whine.

Then what is the POINT of all this other than dumping vet contracts???
With those you mention…..they were old with large contracts is the excuse why Bloom couldn’t get a great return
Now with Donny…..he was one of the top trade targets all offseason and he’s young and CHEAP…..and still not a great return
What quality of player needs to be traded to get an almost MLB ready close to sure thing?

The problem is you are confused and think because a team is interested in a player they will pay anything to get them you’re wrong you were always wrong about that. The cardinals valued him for his intangibles other teams trading for him are looking far more at actual production and Donovan was a 10 hr 50 rbi guy. He doesn’t have much power and doesn’t have much power. I mean would you trade a guy like Doyle or JJ for Donavan? No because he’s a complimentary player

2ninr wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 18:09 pm

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 18:02 pm

imyourhuckleberry wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:57 pm

alw80 wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:51 pm

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:48 pm

Absolut wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:45 pm

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:43 pm

alw80 wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:40 pm

82birds wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:39 pm

icon wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:37 pm There may be a carnival barker outside Busch yelling: "Come and see it -- the man who pitches with both arms!"

Knowing the Cardinals and the marketing aspect, they will forbid him from giving up pitching with both arms. Remember the Navy guy who was here just because he was a Navy guy? And Nootbaar, the guy with the cute name in they hang on to forever and a day.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

I disagree strongly with your last sentence.

Yep, Bloom has done more positive for the franchise in a few months than Mo had done in the last 10 years.

What great positive has he done other than clearing BDW payroll obligations for question marks.
What player out of this offseason trade return is anyone confident being a solid MLB starter?

Prefer adding an Erik Fedde and calling it a winter?

I prefer getting some stud players…….is this asking too much…..middling rehab projects fits in well to this organizations overall losing mentality

What studs were available for BD?

GF was asked the same question when he was whining about the return in the Gray trade, whining about the return in the Contrerras trade and whining about the return in the Arenado trade. He had no answers then, he'll have no answers now.

He just wants to whine.

Then what is the POINT of all this other than dumping vet contracts???
With those you mention…..they were old with large contracts is the excuse why Bloom couldn’t get a great return
Now with Donny…..he was one of the top trade targets all offseason and he’s young and CHEAP…..and still not a great return
What quality of player needs to be traded to get an almost MLB ready close to sure thing?

It was an appropriate return. Sure I would have liked more. The trade value was accurate, as usual. Still way better than getting less at td or nothing in 2 years. This player wasn't taking us to the playoffs.

Donny could’ve been a solid INF and lineup slot for the Cards for YEARS. They’re paying an injury riddled sub .500 5.00ERA SP 12mil this year…..so don’t give me the [nonsense] that somehow they can’t afford 6mil for Donny or whatever his next contract might bring.

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 18:06 pm

Absolut wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 18:02 pm

imyourhuckleberry wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:57 pm

alw80 wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:51 pm

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:48 pm

Absolut wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:45 pm

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:43 pm

alw80 wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:40 pm

82birds wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:39 pm

icon wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:37 pm There may be a carnival barker outside Busch yelling: "Come and see it -- the man who pitches with both arms!"

Knowing the Cardinals and the marketing aspect, they will forbid him from giving up pitching with both arms. Remember the Navy guy who was here just because he was a Navy guy? And Nootbaar, the guy with the cute name in they hang on to forever and a day.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

I disagree strongly with your last sentence.

Yep, Bloom has done more positive for the franchise in a few months than Mo had done in the last 10 years.

What great positive has he done other than clearing BDW payroll obligations for question marks.
What player out of this offseason trade return is anyone confident being a solid MLB starter?

Prefer adding an Erik Fedde and calling it a winter?

I prefer getting some stud players…….is this asking too much…..middling rehab projects fits in well to this organizations overall losing mentality

What studs were available for BD?

GF was asked the same question when he was whining about the return in the Gray trade, whining about the return in the Contrerras trade and whining about the return in the Arenado trade. He had no answers then, he'll have no answers now.

He just wants to whine.

Goldfish memory forgetting we sucked with gray, Contreras, Donovan etc. this [censored] wasn’t going to magically fix itself. Mo ran down the middle of the road for too long, it’s going to suck, but at least there is a plan.

What exactly do you think the Cards returned in prospects that going to make them any better than they have been??? Isn’t’ that the point???

I think the point is to have a plan for improvement. 2026 is going to be bad, as the last several years were. And it was going to be bad regardless.

I think the prospects and picks we have are going to make us better than hanging onto depreciating assets, who collectively weren’t a good base to get it done, anyway.

We traded a batter who’s best value was as a catcher, who couldn’t catch. Who by the way, is going to be 34.

A 36 year old pitcher

A very good hitter without a true defensive home, who struggled with injuries, almost 30. And we made room for JJW at 2b.

OK the deal is:

Donovan for:

Jurrangelo Cjintje P
Tai Peete OF LHB
Colton Ledbetter OF LHB
#72 overall pick

Not as exciting as some of the thoughts we had here but.... I dunno. Good bad indifferent. Guess we'll know more in a year or two. Interested in how the "experts" rate the deal.

And there is still time to cash in on Romero and sign a few veterans at the end of the free agent merry go round on lower cost make good deals.

Like it or not they are executing a rebuild properly.

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 18:02 pm

imyourhuckleberry wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:57 pm

alw80 wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:51 pm

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:48 pm

Absolut wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:45 pm

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:43 pm

alw80 wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:40 pm

82birds wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:39 pm

icon wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:37 pm There may be a carnival barker outside Busch yelling: "Come and see it -- the man who pitches with both arms!"

Knowing the Cardinals and the marketing aspect, they will forbid him from giving up pitching with both arms. Remember the Navy guy who was here just because he was a Navy guy? And Nootbaar, the guy with the cute name in they hang on to forever and a day.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

I disagree strongly with your last sentence.

Yep, Bloom has done more positive for the franchise in a few months than Mo had done in the last 10 years.

What great positive has he done other than clearing BDW payroll obligations for question marks.
What player out of this offseason trade return is anyone confident being a solid MLB starter?

Prefer adding an Erik Fedde and calling it a winter?

I prefer getting some stud players…….is this asking too much…..middling rehab projects fits in well to this organizations overall losing mentality

What studs were available for BD?

GF was asked the same question when he was whining about the return in the Gray trade, whining about the return in the Contrerras trade and whining about the return in the Arenado trade. He had no answers then, he'll have no answers now.

He just wants to whine.

Then what is the POINT of all this other than dumping vet contracts???
With those you mention…..they were old with large contracts is the excuse why Bloom couldn’t get a great return
Now with Donny…..he was one of the top trade targets all offseason and he’s young and CHEAP…..and still not a great return
What quality of player needs to be traded to get an almost MLB ready close to sure thing?

JC (trying to spell his name gives me a headache) is a top 100 prospect. Sounds pretty good. Though not a top 100 prospect, Peete had a higher trade value than JC (according to an earlier post), so that sounds pretty good too. Don't know anything about Ledbetter but they must see something in him or they'd have just settled for the pick. And speaking of the pick, the pick has real value.

Again, who are these "studs" you were expecting? You never answer that question. You just claim they should have gotten studs, but who are these mystery men?

We know...you want them to compete this season. But that isn't going to happen. It was never going to happen. Bloom told us so in the fall. You just choose to not accept that and would just rather whine about every move they make (even though you likely have never seen any of these guys play).

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 18:02 pm

imyourhuckleberry wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:57 pm

alw80 wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:51 pm

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:48 pm

Absolut wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:45 pm

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:43 pm

alw80 wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:40 pm

82birds wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:39 pm

icon wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:37 pm There may be a carnival barker outside Busch yelling: "Come and see it -- the man who pitches with both arms!"

Knowing the Cardinals and the marketing aspect, they will forbid him from giving up pitching with both arms. Remember the Navy guy who was here just because he was a Navy guy? And Nootbaar, the guy with the cute name in they hang on to forever and a day.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

I disagree strongly with your last sentence.

Yep, Bloom has done more positive for the franchise in a few months than Mo had done in the last 10 years.

What great positive has he done other than clearing BDW payroll obligations for question marks.
What player out of this offseason trade return is anyone confident being a solid MLB starter?

Prefer adding an Erik Fedde and calling it a winter?

I prefer getting some stud players…….is this asking too much…..middling rehab projects fits in well to this organizations overall losing mentality

What studs were available for BD?

GF was asked the same question when he was whining about the return in the Gray trade, whining about the return in the Contrerras trade and whining about the return in the Arenado trade. He had no answers then, he'll have no answers now.

He just wants to whine.

Then what is the POINT of all this other than dumping vet contracts???
With those you mention…..they were old with large contracts is the excuse why Bloom couldn’t get a great return
Now with Donny…..he was one of the top trade targets all offseason and he’s young and CHEAP…..and still not a great return
What quality of player needs to be traded to get an almost MLB ready close to sure thing?

They got two recent first round picks, a second round pick, and a comp pick in this years draft for a good not great player with just 2 years of control.

If you think the return sucks, you cannot be helped. Bloom is trying to raise the ceiling and to do so, you need some elite type of talent to rise up. He’s shooting for those types.

AZ_Cardsfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 18:14 pm OK the deal is:

Donovan for:

Jurrangelo Cjintje P
Tai Peete OF LHB
Colton Ledbetter OF LHB
#72 overall pick

Not as exciting as some of the thoughts we had here but.... I dunno. Good bad indifferent. Guess we'll know more in a year or two. Interested in how the "experts" rate the deal.

And there is still time to cash in on Romero and sign a few veterans at the end of the free agent merry go round on lower cost make good deals.

Like it or not they are executing a rebuild properly.

A couple more 45 rated prospects.

82birds wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 18:11 pm over on the Mariners board, they are stoked to be getting Donovan.
They should be !

They should be. They got a very good player who will be a nice addition to their deep lineup

Initial analysis:
1. It is going to take at least 3 years to fairly evaluate this move.
2. That said, I like the N/A, Gray, and even the Contreras trades much better
3. Bloom traded what he viewed as the team's most valuable trade piece - and received in return players at positions where the organization already had multiple similar assets - and did not address a single area of far more pressing need, which is very,very strange decision making.
4. He made the MLB roster worse and does not appear to have made the organization appreciably better or deeper.
5. Playing nothing but a numbers game is not exactly a transformative strategy - it smacks of merely hoping to get lucky.
6. Bottom line: CORRECT BASEBALL DECISION would have been to keep Donovan at present time.

Absolut wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 18:16 pm

82birds wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 18:11 pm over on the Mariners board, they are stoked to be getting Donovan.
They should be !

They should be. They got a very good player who will be a nice addition to their deep lineup

No. Doubt.

Melville wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 18:17 pm Initial analysis:
1. It is going to take at least 3 years to fairly evaluate this move.
2. That said, I like the N/A, Gray, and even the Contreras trades much better
3. Bloom traded what he viewed as the team's most valuable trade piece - and received in return players at positions where the organization already had multiple similar assets - and did not address a single area of far more pressing need, which is very,very strange decision making.
4. He made the MLB roster worse and does not appear to have made the organization appreciably better or deeper.
5. Playing nothing but a numbers game is not exactly a transformative strategy - it smacks of merely hoping to get lucky.
6. Bottom line: CORRECT BASEBALL DECISION would have been to keep Donovan at present time.

your point #3...very true.
where's the RH bat that is so needed?

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 18:02 pm

imyourhuckleberry wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:57 pm

alw80 wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:51 pm

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:48 pm

Absolut wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:45 pm

Goldfan wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:43 pm

alw80 wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:40 pm

82birds wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:39 pm

icon wrote: ↑02 Feb 2026 17:37 pm There may be a carnival barker outside Busch yelling: "Come and see it -- the man who pitches with both arms!"

Knowing the Cardinals and the marketing aspect, they will forbid him from giving up pitching with both arms. Remember the Navy guy who was here just because he was a Navy guy? And Nootbaar, the guy with the cute name in they hang on to forever and a day.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

I disagree strongly with your last sentence.

Yep, Bloom has done more positive for the franchise in a few months than Mo had done in the last 10 years.

What great positive has he done other than clearing BDW payroll obligations for question marks.
What player out of this offseason trade return is anyone confident being a solid MLB starter?

Prefer adding an Erik Fedde and calling it a winter?

I prefer getting some stud players…….is this asking too much…..middling rehab projects fits in well to this organizations overall losing mentality

What studs were available for BD?

GF was asked the same question when he was whining about the return in the Gray trade, whining about the return in the Contrerras trade and whining about the return in the Arenado trade. He had no answers then, he'll have no answers now.

He just wants to whine.

Then what is the POINT of all this other than dumping vet contracts???
With those you mention…..they were old with large contracts is the excuse why Bloom couldn’t get a great return
Now with Donny…..he was one of the top trade targets all offseason and he’s young and CHEAP…..and still not a great return
What quality of player needs to be traded to get an almost MLB ready close to sure thing?

Donovan is good, but let's face it, he doesn't get you a Soto haul for 2 years control.

You weren't going to get high ceiling 'sure things' for him. You were going to get either years of controlled high floor/low ceiling players or higher ceiling not quite as sure, but solid.

SI:

Cardinals fans should be thrilled with the return in the Brendan Donovan deal

Cijntje, 22, is one of the most intriguing prospects in all of baseball for one simple reason: He's a switch pitcher.

The 22-year-old is likely going to pitch right handed more often than anything, but he can still dial it up to over 90 miles-per-hour with the left hand. He put together a very solid campaign last season with the Mariners, but will look to build on it in St. Louis.

Peete, 20, seems more like a project than anything. He was selected in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft, but he struggled quite a bit last season. Still, he has all the tools to be an incredible big league outfielder. The 20-year-old has good power, speed, and defense, which makes him one of the higher potential players in the Cardinals farm system.

Ledbetter, 24, has put together a few solid seasons in the minor leagues. He wasn't great last year, but he has the tools to be successful if the Cardinals can get the most out of his bat.

The addition of the Comp B pick is the perfect cherry on top of a great trade for the Cardinals. Time will tell if this trade return pans out the way it could.

Dont be surprised if we leverage our trade returns in a future trade or two