J.J. Picollo has been quite clear that he is looking for outfielders<\/a>, with several rumors<\/a> already matriculating out of the general manager meetings in Las Vegas this week. But the Royals may be creative in their pursuit to upgrade the worst-hitting outfield in baseball. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch<\/a> writes that they have interest in Brendan Donovan, an infielder capable of playing in the outfield.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Donovan is a 28-year-old left-handed hitter who has been 15th in all of baseball<\/a> with a .361 on-base percentage since he came up in 2022. He has been remarkably consistent, hitting .287\/.353\/.422 with 10 home runs in 118 games this year, earning his first All-Star appearance and finishing with 2.7 rWAR. He battled toe issues this year and missed a month with a groin injury, eventually undergoing surgery for a sports hernia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Donovan is a high-contact hitter with the 12th-best contact rate<\/a> since 2022, and he is 15th among all hitters for the lowest strikeout rate<\/a> since 2022 at 13.5 percent. He does struggle against lefties, batting .230\/.292\/.322 against them this year, although he has a career .325 on-base percentage against southpaws.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Donovan played 100 games at second base this year, but was the regular left-fielder last year. He has also spent a little time at shortstop and third base in his career and could fill in there in a pinch. He is an adequate defender at both second and outfield, according to defensive metrics, and did win a Gold Glove back in 2022 as a utility player. Picollo talked to Goold about how it helps to have a player with positional versatility. \u201cRight now we don\u2019t have somebody who can play infield and right field, and that\u2019s something we\u2019ve got to look at,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we had somebody who could go from the infield to the outfield that\u2019s very beneficial.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Chaim Bloom has taken over running the Cardinals and will likely look to put his stamp on a franchise that has stagnated. Donovan has two more years until he is eligible for free agency and is projected to earn $5.4 million<\/a> in arbitration next year. He should be a very attractive trade target with Goold writing, \u201cmore than half the teams in the majors would like to trade for him.\u201d The Guardians are reportedly one of the teams interested, and the Yankees and Dodgers reportedly had interest<\/a> at the trade deadline.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Royals match up well with the Cardinals due to their pitching surplus. The Cardinals allowed the ninth-most runs in baseball and are looking to trade veteran starter Sonny Gray. They could use an influx of young pitchers with controllable years. That likely rules out Royals starters like Seth Lugo or Michael Wacha, and Cole Ragans would be far too great of a return. The Cardinals may not be pushing to be serious contenders next year, which means a pitcher like Kris Bubic, who has one year left until free agency, may not be a target.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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