Less than a week before the trade deadline, rumors are flying fast and furiously across social media platforms.
A courtesy report Athletic Fabian Alda and Katie Wu claim that the Los Angeles are truly interested in St. Louis Cardinals utility man Brendan Donovan.
This year’s All-Star Donovan played across the diamond, including the left field, where the are currently struggling with Michael Comfort as a daily player. Donovan’s ability to ride on base and get hit on average, coupled with his positional diversity, makes him an attractive possibility.
“The ideal would be to add left-handed outfielders, a league source said, but add solid gloves to deepen position player groups such as Harrison Bader of the Minnesota Twins. The have so far scored highs and have expressed what St. Louis Cardan’s All-Star Donovan, Loonan Brendan, is doing.
If a team acquires Donovan, it could cause a chain reaction with other players from a position standpoint. Given that Donovan can play a reliable 2 base, Tommy Edman was able to return to the outfield with Andy Page, and perhaps set up the shop permanently on the right field. Tecker Hernandez moved to the left in a move that could really bolster his overall defense in the outfield.
“Donovan played 18 games on the left field and 186 career games on the outfield this year, but solidifying Dodovan means the can play primarily in the center field.”
Donovan played four seasons for the Cardinals. The 28-year-old averages .284 career batting and has an impressive career OPS of .777.
This year, Donovan has a batting average of .296 with nine home runs and has been hit with 42 runs. As his advanced metrics show, Donovan is squared at the 97th percentile, with the 96th percentile ranked in the whiff percentage. He is also the 90th percentile in strikeout rate and 90th in the XBA.
In other words, Donovan has proven to be an average hit, a ball player and a rare attacker. When aiming to enhance the length within the lineup, this player profiles with a great fit.
Given his age and the years left in his deal, there is no guarantee that Donovan will be replaced. St. Louis still has two years of team control after this season. The will have to let go of one (if not multiple) of their better prospects to complete a deal for a player of this caliber.
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Photo credit: Rick Scuteri-Immagn Image
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