Brendan Donovan's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

According to John Denton of MLB.com, the St. Louis Cardinals and infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan could not come to a long-term agreement before Thursday's arbitration deadline. Earlier this week, it was reported that both sides were inching towards a long-term deal but were unable to finalize it. The 27-year-old has spent his entire three-year major league career in St. Louis. Last season, he held a .278/.342/.417 line with 14 home runs and five stolen bases. He showed an elite eye at the plate with a stellar 12.4% K rate and a 15.1% whiff rate. Fantasy managers should expect Donovan to operate as the team's starting second baseman in 2025 but could also see time in the outfield. In addition, he may eventually be shifted to the hot corner with Nolan Arenado's name on the trade block.

St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado and infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan will both retreat to the bench for Thursday's series finale at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies. Jose Fermin is handling the hot corner and batting eighth, while rookie Thomas Saggese starts at second base and is hitting sixth against Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland. Neither Fermin nor Saggese have ever faced Freeland in their careers. Donovan will get the day off after starting in each of the team's last 12 games. Fermin has done little at the plate in 63 at-bats this year, going 9-for-63 (.143) with no homers, three RBI and two stolen bases. Saggese, meanwhile, was recently called up for the first time and has gone 8-for-38 (.211) with a homer, two doubles and four RBI in his first 14 major-league games for the Red Birds.

St. Louis Cardinals infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan (foot) is starting at second base and is batting leadoff on Tuesday at Busch Stadium against the division-rival Cincinnati Reds and rookie right-hander Rhett Lowder. Donovan will return to the top of the Red Birds' batting order against the Reds after missing the previous two games due to a foot infection. There was some worry that the 27-year-old utility man might need a stint on the injured list, but he appears fine for now and will have some DFS appeal as a low-cost sleeper on Tuesday at the top of the lineup. Shortstop Masyn Winn is getting a day off, which has allowed Donovan to hit leadoff for the first time in a month. The left-handed-hitting German lacks notable speed or pop, but he's gone 7-for-20 (.350) with two doubles in five games so far in the month of September.