A nice breakdown of possible Donovan suitors

[Shady]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/5- ... 2eadb&ei=6 Good to see a lot of possible interest in Donovan. There seem to be some nice potential offers laid out. Which would you prefer?

[rockondlouie]

I've always said this about dealing Donny and agree:

"..set the bar high for what it will take to acquire Donovan, and allow teams to bid against one another to get his services".

I'd bet that "five teams" will double as any contender could use him.

[kyace]

They left out Seattle who has been after Donovan for years and still seeking him per reports. Recent pod cast put up a trade of Donovan and O’Reilly for #63 prospect Arroyo and #90 prospect Cijntje plus their comp b pick in next draft.

[icon]

[zuck698]

Thank you Shady for the breaking news!

[Shady]

They left out Seattle who has been after Donovan for years and still seeking him per reports. Recent pod cast put up a trade of Donovan and O’Reilly for #63 prospect Arroyo and #90 prospect Cijntje plus their comp b pick in next draft.

I've also seen reports of the Royals interest in Donovan. This is an encouraging quote from the article I posted. "While it seems like there are more teams interested in Donovan than those who are not". It leads me to believe Bloom could get a really nice package for Donovan.

[Strummer Jones]

They left out Seattle who has been after Donovan for years and still seeking him per reports. Recent pod cast put up a trade of Donovan and O’Reilly for #63 prospect Arroyo and #90 prospect Cijntje plus their comp b pick in next draft.

I'd have mixed feelings about that trade. Definite value there, but I feel like you've gotta get someone either a.) already in the majors as the main piece, or b.) someone ready to debut at the beginning or early next year.

Overall? I wouldn't be mad at it, though.

[mattmitchl44]

Donovan (plus maybe Romero, etc. as additional value) is their key piece to trying to get back a high ceiling AA/AAA ML-ready prospect.

I'd deal Donovan for quality, not quantity.

I'd be willing to deal Gray, Arenado, etc. for more high floor/low ceiling ML-ready prospects.

[Shady]

Donovan (plus maybe Romero, etc. as additional value) is their key piece to trying to get back a high ceiling AA/AAA ML-ready prospect.

I'd deal Donovan for quality, not quantity.

I'd be willing to deal Gray, Arenado, etc. for more high floor/low ceiling ML-ready prospects.

Your post makes a lot of sense. I'd add Nootbaar to the "for more high floor/low ceiling ML-ready prospects" category.

[Melville]

If Bloom moves him, Donovan for Pages is the correct play.
Build a package from that foundation.
That said, Mootbaar for Pages is the better starting point.

[Shady]

If Bloom moves him, Donovan for Pages is the correct play.
Build a package from that foundation.
That said, Mootbaar for Pages is the better starting point.

Melville, on my other OP today, do any of the available Rule 5 players seem worthy of the Cardinals selecting them? I like what the article says about the young reliever, Magdaleno.

[rockondlouie]

Donovan (plus maybe Romero, etc. as additional value) is their key piece to trying to get back a high ceiling AA/AAA ML-ready prospect.

I'd deal Donovan for quality, not quantity.

I'd be willing to deal Gray, Arenado, etc. for more high floor/low ceiling ML-ready prospects.

STOP the PRESSES matt, we actually (almost) agree as I want an under age 26 major league starting pitcher for Donny vs your AA/AAA ML ready!

by rockondlouie » 18 Nov 2025 13:30 pm

I'd rather deal Donovan for a young (under age 26) major league starting pitcher w/years of control than I would prospects (re: too many times become suspects).

Donovan has BIG VALUE and there's already strong DEMAND, he should bring back a young major league starter.

Save the prospect returns for the S. Gray, NADO, JoJo, Noot, ect....deals if they materialize.

Donny is C. Blooms BEST trade chip, he brings back a major league starter, not someone's #12-15 prospect.

[12xu]

Donovan (plus maybe Romero, etc. as additional value) is their key piece to trying to get back a high ceiling AA/AAA ML-ready prospect.

I'd deal Donovan for quality, not quantity.

I'd be willing to deal Gray, Arenado, etc. for more high floor/low ceiling ML-ready prospects.

STOP the PRESSES matt, we actually (almost) agree as I want an under age 26 major league starting pitcher for Donny vs your AA/AAA ML ready!

by rockondlouie » 18 Nov 2025 13:30 pm

I'd rather deal Donovan for a young (under age 26) major league starting pitcher w/years of control than I would prospects (re: too many times become suspects).

Donovan has BIG VALUE and there's already strong DEMAND, he should bring back a young major league starter.

Save the prospect returns for the S. Gray, NADO, JoJo, Noot, ect....deals if they materialize.

Donny is C. Blooms BEST trade chip, he brings back a major league starter, not someone's #12-15 prospect.

Correct, someone like KC's LH Noah Cameron, who is 26 and already with one strong big league season as a starter.

[C-Unit]

I do see where the perfect storm exists to capitalize on a massive return for Donovan. Potentially a return even bigger than his true value (and he is very valuable). Remember when the White Sox were able to find a glitch in the market with Adam Eaton. Right player right time sort of thing. I think we have it with Donovan.

[C-Unit]

Donovan (plus maybe Romero, etc. as additional value) is their key piece to trying to get back a high ceiling AA/AAA ML-ready prospect.

I'd deal Donovan for quality, not quantity.

I'd be willing to deal Gray, Arenado, etc. for more high floor/low ceiling ML-ready prospects.

I'm curious if you have anymore thoughts on Arenado.

My main thing is... if we are going to get a prospect for Arenado I wonder what we can realistically expect. Considering that what we gave up to get him in the first place was pretty low ceiling already, and that was Arenado still in his prime. So what do you think we're getting back now. I think if it's a prospect, it's going to be a Juan Yepez type. A low ceiling, low floor, total wild card probably nowhere near big league ready who may never make it. When we got Yepez he was a 1B/DH type, limited defensively, who had a "bat" to "dream" on. And for him to even make it to the big leagues, 5 years later, was probably about the top-end outcome anyone had in mind.

Of course you can add money or attach another player. I'm sure those possibilities have been discussed endlessly on this board. Maybe that will get you something more.

For Arenado, I like the idea of looking for another ML player in return. I'm thinking back to when we flipped Rolen for Glaus. Recently I saw the thread about Arenado for Castellanos of the Phillies and I like that idea actually. Especially if we can move Contreras allowing Burleson to play 1B. Then you can have Castellanos and Walker in corner OF slots. 3rd is open for Gorman who would hopefully show some power in the first half and could be traded. Castellanos also (I think) would end up appealing more at the 2026 deadline than Arenado would. He would represent a RH rental bat that I think teams would be interested in going down the stretch (carries less commitment than Arenado). Would you consider Arenado or Castellanos more likely to have a "rebound" season in 2026? For some reason I feel I'd be willing to take the gamble that Castellanos could find the fountain of youth in the 1st half, just enough to build more trade value at the deadline. Could you see that outcome netting more (in terms of a prospect) than what you could get for Arenado right now?

[mattmitchl44]

Donovan (plus maybe Romero, etc. as additional value) is their key piece to trying to get back a high ceiling AA/AAA ML-ready prospect.

I'd deal Donovan for quality, not quantity.

I'd be willing to deal Gray, Arenado, etc. for more high floor/low ceiling ML-ready prospects.

I'm curious if you have anymore thoughts on Arenado.

My main thing is... if we are going to get a prospect for Arenado I wonder what we can realistically expect. Considering that what we gave up to get him in the first place was pretty low ceiling already, and that was Arenado still in his prime. So what do you think we're getting back now. I think if it's a prospect, it's going to be a Juan Yepez type. A low ceiling, low floor, total wild card probably nowhere near big league ready who may never make it. When we got Yepez he was a 1B/DH type, limited defensively, who had a "bat" to "dream" on. And for him to even make it to the big leagues, 5 years later, was probably about the top-end outcome anyone had in mind.

Of course you can add money or attach another player. I'm sure those possibilities have been discussed endlessly on this board. Maybe that will get you something more.

For Arenado, I like the idea of looking for another ML player in return. I'm thinking back to when we flipped Rolen for Glaus. Recently I saw the thread about Arenado for Castellanos of the Phillies and I like that idea actually. Especially if we can move Contreras allowing Burleson to play 1B. Then you can have Castellanos and Walker in corner OF slots. 3rd is open for Gorman who would hopefully show some power in the first half and could be traded. Castellanos also (I think) would end up appealing more at the 2026 deadline than Arenado would. He would represent a RH rental bat that I think teams would be interested in going down the stretch (carries less commitment than Arenado). Would you consider Arenado or Castellanos more likely to have a "rebound" season in 2026? For some reason I feel I'd be willing to take the gamble that Castellanos could find the fountain of youth in the 1st half, just enough to build more trade value at the deadline. Could you see that outcome netting more (in terms of a prospect) than what you could get for Arenado right now?

My thought on Arenado is that, at best, they eat enough salary to get one high floor/low ceiling prospect back for him. An AA/AAA player or pitcher who probably projects to top out at like a 2+ fWAR player, but has a fairly high probability of hitting that mark in their mid-to-late 20s.

I think you might get at least two such high floor/low ceiling prospects for Gray, pending how much money the eat.

For Donovan, I want one higher ceiling guy who has 4+ fWAR potential if they reach it, but who carries more risk of falling short of maximizing on that.

If they can get MORE than that for any them, great. But those are kind of my minimums.