The Boston Red Sox's search for their final infielder continues as the team's equipment truck departed from Fenway Park to Fort Myers on February 2, signaling the official start of spring training. Despite the offseason symbolically coming to an end, Boston feels no closer to finding the missing piece.
One of its last potential trade options came off the board that afternoon. The Seattle Mariners will trade for St. Louis Cardinals infielder Brendan Donovan, first reported by Katie Woo of The Athletic (subscription required). The deal is close, but not yet complete, and a third mystery team could be involved.
Craig Breslow has made three trades with the Cardinals since the 2025 trade deadline (Steven Matz, Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras) and Boston's many links to Donovan made it seem like another could've been coming. St. Louis' new president of baseball operations, Chaim Bloom, instead found a new trade partner on the West Coast.
Of the many infielders named as a fit for Boston this offseason, Donovan seemed like one of the more questionable ones. The Red Sox's lineup is weighed down by too many lefties, and Donovan would be another in the heart of the lineup.
Mariners trade for Cardinals infielder Brendan Donovan, eliminating another Red Sox infield candidate (albeit a questionable one)
Besides his left-handedness, Donovan is also a questionable fit for some of Boston's other needs. Adding home run power was allegedly a top priority for the front office, and it wouldn't find much in Donovan. He's averaged 10 home runs over his first four big league seasons, and although three of them have been under 127 games, there's still less pop in his bat than the Red Sox need after the Rafael Devers trade.
Credit where credit is due: Donovan has racked up doubles in recent years, with 32 over just 118 games in 2025. But with the Green Monster in front of them half the time, the Red Sox don't need any more help hitting doubles — they need to leave the yard.
Boston is also reportedly prioritizing defense as it searches for its missing piece in the infield. Donovan is largely a below average defender (except in 2024) and posted an out below average last season. If the Red Sox plan to make a final trade to complete their infield, Donovan doesn't check enough of the boxes to be worth it, especially given how much of their farm system they've already depleted with their other moves.
With Donovan off the board, Chicago Cubs Nico Hoerner and Matt Shaw, and Houston Astros third baseman Isaac Paredes are some of the last remaining trade candidates this winter. Whether Boston lands any of them will be a toss up — it hasn't met anyone's asking price for a middle infielder yet, and it may be difficult to start now after it's made so many other trades.