After adding Willson Contreras in their third trade with the St. Louis Cardinals since the 2025 trade deadline, the Boston Red Sox remain focused on upgrading their offense. Many insiders believe Alex Bregman is Boston's primary target, but his market has seemingly only gotten bigger as the offseason has progressed.
Yet another Red Sox-Cardinals trade rumor has emerged as Boston looks to round out its offense. It's been linked to utility player Brendan Donovan as an infield replacement if Bregman were to sign elsewhere, and the two sides have already discussed such a deal, per Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic.
Donovan, entering his age 29 season, has two years of team control remaining on his contract. He's fresh off his first All-Star nomination in 2025 and his consistent bat would make him a good fit on nearly any roster — he batted .287/.353/.422 over 118 games last year.
But, for a few reasons, Donovan doesn't suit the Red Sox's needs as well as some of the other bats on the free agent market do, particularly Bregman. Donovan is left-handed and Boston's lineup is already dominated by southpaws. The side of the plate he hits on doesn't make or break his fit with the team, but it's a contributing factor among other things.
Another trade with the Cardinals to land Brendan Donovan would be a disappointing offensive addition for the Red Sox
Donovan is a doubles machine, which would play well in Fenway Park's unpredictable outfield. He knocked 32 doubles last year, which is almost a 44 double pace in a full 162 game season. Donovan doesn't have much home run power in his bat, however, which the Red Sox are sorely missing after the Rafael Devers trade (although Contreras adds some back). The four-year big leaguer has never hit more than 14 home runs in a season and he hit 10 in 2025.
Donovan's defense ranks below league average while Bregman is a quality defender at a coveted position. One of Boston's main arguments that led up to the Devers trade was the need for a defensive upgrade and Donovan doesn't meet the mark as well as Bregman does.
The December 21 Contreras trade was Boston's 10th of the offseason. Its moves haven't had a huge effect on the team's payroll and signing Bregman is still well within the realm of possibility if it doesn't make him an offer similar to the pathetic one it offered Pete Alonso. Bregman is older than Donovan, but he's a proven winner with World Series experience, he's right-handed, there's more power in his bat and he's a superior defender — the Red Sox need all of those things to field a better team than last season.
Bregman is the true best fit for the Red Sox's needs this offseason. Despite Breslow's assertion that his many trades are not an effort to save money, that's exactly how they come across after Boston's lackluster offers to free agents in recent years. The Red Sox have the money to sign Bregman, and trading for Donovan instead would be massively disappointing.