While the Cardinals spent most of the season committing to Brendan Donovan as their starting second baseman because of what a steady position could mean for his health, durability and production, by the time spring arrives he could be at a new position or more positions.
Roster decisions made around him will determine if he’s on the move.
“It depends on how the roster’s built,” Donovan said after batting practice Friday afternoon at Busch Stadium. “I want to be out there every game. If that means that I have to play multiple positions to do that, that’s fine. I do want to play every game. Every year I kind of have the goal of doing 150-plus games. So last year, I hit that. And I was excited to do it again. This year, unfortunately …”
This year’s long run at second base and run for a second consecutive season of 150 games was interrupted by a sprained toe — an injury commonly called turf toe — and a groin injury caused by trying to find anyway to remain explosive despite the pain and limits of his left foot. He spent more than a month on the injured list and returned recently to a modified schedule to help him play through the end of the season.
The Cardinals are avoiding playing Donovan in day games that follow a night game. That sets him up to rest Sunday, play all three night games in San Francisco next week, and then adjust to the day games that close the season at Wrigley Field.
As Donovan, the Cardinals’ lone All-Star this summer, played through the toe pain, the Cardinals stuck with him at second base to alleviate the workload and potential wear-and-tear that came with his usual utility role. Manager Oliver Marmol said as things stand right now, Donovan is the starting second baseman going into 2026. But there are roster questions galore that could change that. The Cardinals could open up third base by finding a trade that is agreeable to veteran Nolan Arenado, or they could opt to have top prospect JJ Wetherholt compete for the starting job at second base for opening day.
There are several outcomes that recast Donovan in a utility role — an everyday player without an everyday position.
“I wouldn’t say he can’t still provide versatility depending on the construction of the roster,” Marmol said. “It depends on what all the other pieces look like. He brings you a lot of value still bouncing around but being in the lineup every single day.”
This past offseason, the Cardinals presented Willson Contreras with the choice of moving to first base — and he was pitched on the idea of longevity and more playing time because he wouldn’t take the bruising at catcher. Marmol has described the demands of staying proficient at multiple positions, and agreed that Donovan’s health would be part of the conversation on whether to commit to him at a position, or just an everyday role, position TBD.
As the All-Star Game approached, Donovan had a .300 average as late as June 27 and he was among the National League leaders in doubles and hits. He led all second basemen in most offensive categories.
And then the toe injury started to erode his base.
He had less explosive drive in the field and at the plate.
“I feel like I made some adjustments that were helping me to take the next step offensively,” Donovan said. “And when my base started to go it started to take away my ability to hold posture, my ability to drive the ball. … When my base started to go, I started to lose some of those bolts and then I started to end up on the ground or on the pullside a little bit more. I learned a lot from there.”
Donovan likened his evaluation at the moment to how he began the 2023-24 offseason coming out of elbow surgery. That winter he was able to focus on recovery and then strengthening, and in 2024 he reached his goal of 150 games in the field. The former Gold Glove-winner believes this past winter, he started preparing for the season too early and that led to some of the aches and pains that compounded over time.
This winter, he’s not preparing for a specific position.
Other than being at some position everyday.
“I think the most important thing is figuring out why something like that happened, and doing that the last time helped me play 150-plus games,” Donovan said. “I have that goal in mind. The best ability is always availability. If I can be available it gives us a chance.”
Starters send Springfield to title series
Led by a pair of shutout starts from a right-left combination that carried them for most of the season, the Class AA Springfield Cardinal vaulted into the Texas League championship series with a division series sweep of the Tulsa Drillers. Lefty Brycen Mautz pitched five scoreless innings late Thursday night in a 3-0 victory at Hammons Field against the Drillers, the Dodgers’ Class AA affiliate. The game was limited to seven innings by a lengthy rain delay and late start.
In Game 1 of the series, right-hander Ixan Henderson pitched six scoreless innings on the way to a 3-1 victory at Tulsa.
The S-Cards will host the Midland RockHounds, the Athletics’ Class AA affiliate, for the first game of the best-of-three title series on Sunday. It is the first time that the S-Cards will play for the league championship since 2012.
During the regular season, Mautz, 24, went 8-3 with a 2.98 Era in 25 starts. He struck out 134 in 114 2/3 innings. Henderson, 23, was 9-7 with a 2.59 ERA and had 134 strikeouts in 132 innings for the Cardinals’ Class AA affiliate.
A Cardinals gift for Pope Leo
Before Bill DeWitt III could explain why he brought a Cardinals jersey all the way to Vatican City as a gift for one of the world’s most famous White Sox fans, Pope Leo XIV interjected.
“He said, ‘My dad was a Cardinals fan,’” DeWitt recalled Friday. “He was pretty animated about it. I wanted to tell him, ‘I, too, manage Cardinals.’”
A quick trip to Rome this week made possible by his wife, Ira DeWitt, allowed the Cardinals’ club president to meet briefly with the Pope and present an official, Cardinals home white jersey. The jersey had the Pope’s name on the back and the No. 25. A Chicago native, Pope Leo grew up a White Sox fan and attended a 2005 World Series game on the South Side of Chicago. The White Sox had a mural painted of him at their ballpark, Rate Field.
Ira DeWitt founded SAINT Candles and has connections to Rome Reports, a news and content provider based there. The DeWitts attended the Papal Audience this past Wednesday and afterward were invited to greet to the Pope. They presented the jersey and a candle as gifts.
Fill-in coaches, etc.
First-base and infield coach Stubby Clapp will rejoin the team in San Francisco after being out for a personal matter over the weekend. Jon Jay has been manning first base over the past week during Clapp’s absence, and Packy Elkins was in the first-base coach’s box Friday night. Jay handled bench coach duties as Daniel Descalso was away from the team for a day. … Masyn Winn had his injured knee and slightly torn meniscus reviewed for a second opinion, though as of Friday afternoon the Cardinals did not yet have a final determination. Before leaving St. Louis to meet with a doctor in Miami, Winn said he could have the surgery to repair his knee at some point in the coming week.
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Derrick Goold | Post-Dispatch
Lead baseball writer
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