The St. Louis Cardinals are staring down a decision that’ll define their next few years: keep patching holes or tear it all down and rebuild. With Chaim Bloom now running baseball operations, that second option looks a lot more realistic.
If the Cards do hit reset, they’ll need to start moving veteran pieces. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal believes Brendan Donovan could be among the first to go, despite being the team’s lone All-Star this season.
“Infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan was the Cardinals’ lone All-Star this season, but with only two years of club control remaining, he looms as a prime trade candidate. As good an example as Donovan is for the Cardinals’ younger players, Donovan might depart as a free agent by the time the team is good again.”
That’s the reality facing St. Louis. Donovan’s got two years of arbitration eligibility left, which makes him valuable to contenders but also means he’ll hit free agency right around the time a rebuilt Cardinals team might be ready to compete again.
The 27-year-old utility man had a breakout season, slashing .281/.348/.407 with 26 doubles, 10 homers and 60 RBI. His versatility – he’s played second base, third base and outfield – makes him even more attractive to teams looking for that Swiss Army knife type.
But here’s the thing: the Cardinals have been stuck in no-man’s land for two years now. They haven’t fully committed to rebuilding, and it’s left them in this weird middle ground where they’re not good enough to contend but not bad enough to get premium draft picks.
Rosenthal put it pretty bluntly:
“One of the Cardinals’ problems the past two years is that they’ve gone only halfway in rebuilding efforts. And it hasn’t worked.”
If Donovan goes, he won’t be the only one. Nolan Arenado could be next, assuming they can find a taker for his contract. The idea would be to fully commit to building around younger guys like Ivan Herrera, Alec Burleson and prospect Mason Wynn.
It’s not an easy pill to swallow for a franchise that’s used to competing every year. But sometimes you’ve got to take a step back to move forward. The question is whether Bloom and the front office have the stomach to see it through this time.
The Cardinals’ half-measures haven’t worked. Now they need to decide if they’re ready to go all-in on a rebuild or keep treading water in mediocrity.
