The Los Angeles Dodgers are back-to-back World Series champions, but they aren’t about to get complacent. They are trying to become the first team to win three in a row since the New York Yankees did it from 1998 to 2000.
While the roster is already loaded with All-Star talent, the Dodgers are continuing to look for more. In free agency, they could add a player like Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette, but they could also look to trade for players on smaller deals.
St. Louis Cardinals utility player Brendan Donovan is only set to make $5.75 million in 2026, which should be appealing to the team with MLB’s highest payroll. With Enrique Hernandez headed for free agency, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report pitched a trade that would send Donovan to the Dodgers, while they sent shortstop Emil Morales, right-handed pitcher River Ryan and outfielder Kendall George to St. Louis.
“For years, Chris Taylor and Enrique Hernández were invaluable pieces on the Los Angeles Dodgers roster thanks to their combination of offensive production and defensive versatility,” Reuter wrote. “Brendan Donovan could fill a similar role.
“The 2025 All-Star played primarily second base in 2025, but he has logged at least 100 career innings at all four infield spots and both outfield corners, and he is a career .282/.361/.411 hitter over four seasons.”
Why Would Cardinals Make This Deal?
Donovan is fresh off his first All-Star appearance and is only 28. He could be a building block for the Cardinals.
However, they’re eventually going to have to pay him. Plus, they’d get a strong haul of young players.
“Emil Morales hit .314/.396/.515 with 24 doubles, 14 home runs and 70 RBI in 89 games between rookie ball and Single-A in his stateside debut, and he could be a consensus top-50 prospect in baseball by the summer,” Reuter wrote. “River Ryan missed all of 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery, and he is already 27 years old, but he was a prospect on the rise prior to the injury who logged a 1.33 ERA in 20.1 innings over four starts in his first taste of the big leagues.
“Those two give the Cardinals a nice mix of long-term upside and near-term impact, and rounding out the package with a flier on speedster Kendall George would make this an extremely competitive offer.”
Should Dodgers Try to Hold Onto Young Players?
The Dodgers have been relying on a lot of older veterans in recent years. They’ve had an excellent farm system for a long time, but many of their best players are guys that they’ve signed or traded for.
That’s been a winning formula, but at some point, they may want to focus on finding some homegrown talent. Catcher Will Smith was the only homegrown player to have a major impact in the 2025 playoffs.
Donovan is a good player and could be an upgrade over what Hernandez has brought the team, but he also doesn’t have much playoff experience. Whatever the Dodgers end up doing, it’s difficult to criticize them because their moves have been working to an extremely effective degree in recent years.
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