Ideal Yankees trade target may now be available thanks to short-sighted John Mozeliak

The offseason continues to march on, and the New York Yankees still find themselves in need of an infielder to replace the departed Gleyber Torres (and serve as a necessary upgrade to the incumbent trio of DJ LeMahieu, Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera). Willy Adames? Out of the team's price range. Alex Bregman or Nolan Arenado? Brian Cashman never seemed too interested. Gavin Lux or Luis Arraez? Not a great fit, apparently. We've reached the "kicking the tires on Jorge Polanco" stage, which is never a good sign.

And yet, despite all those swings and misses, not all hope is lost for Cashman finding a meaningful upgrade before Spring Training begins in February. And he has his counterpart with the St. Louis Cardinals to thank, as John Mozeliak's stubbornness in arbitration may have just opened a path to the perfect trade target for New York.

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Yankees could profit from Cardinals-Brendan Donovan arbitration dysfunction

John Mozeliak may be on his way out of St. Louis, but if you thought that meant the Cardinals were going to take it easy ahead of MLB's arbitration deadline on Saturday, think again. St. Louis failed to settle with three of their six arbitration-eligible players, and while Cardinals fans might be wondering why a team openly in rebuild mode would sweat thousands of dollars and risk angering the guys who might actually be in their long-term plans, their pain might be the Yankees' gain.

One of the three players who didn't settle is 27-year-old utility man Brendan Donovan, who filed at $3.3 million and was unwilling to meet the Cardinals at their offer of $2.85 million. And if you were going to craft a player in a lab who met all of New York's roster needs right now, you couldn't do much better. Defensive versatility? Donovan played second base, third base, left field and right field in 2024, and while he did them all adequately, he grades out particularly well at the keystone. Ability to get on base? He's put up a career .364 OBP over three Major League seasons. Oh, and he hits left-handed, balancing out New York's lineup nicely.

It's unclear as of yet to what extent St. Louis would listen to offers for Donovan, who is still in his prime and under team control for the next three seasons. But if this is a sign of a larger rift between team and player, the Yankees might be able to make some hay. Donovan is only going to get more expensive as he proceeds through years of arbitration, and by the time the Cardinals reload in 2026 or 2027, it'll be staring down his free agency. Mozeliak might be persuaded that keeping him isn't worth the trouble and the cost as he tries to save as much money as possible this winter; at the very least, Cashman needs to make a call.