As Brendan Donovan embarks on his third Major League season, he’s had a veteran influence on the St. Louis Cardinals help him make a strong start to his big-league career.
Paul Goldschmidt will open his 14th MLB campaign when the Cardinals play the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.
“He’s been a big mentor to me,” Donovan told KMOX-AM. “We train together in the offseason, and the last two offseasons I’ve had the luxury of seeing how he goes about his business, and I think that’s been very educational for me my first two years. …
“First off, he’s always early. He’s the same person on a daily basis. He shows up, he’s eager to work, he’s always asking questions, he’s curious to get better, he’s extremely knowledgeable, obviously, and trying to keep up with him in the weight room is tough. He’s a machine.”
Donovan and Goldschmidt share another baseball crossroads, although they weren’t diamond standouts in Mobile at the same time.
Goldschmidt had perhaps the best batting season in the 23-year history of the Mobile BayBears in 2011. Goldschmidt had a .306 batting average, .435 on-base average and .626 slugging percentage as he recorded 84 runs, 21 doubles, three triples, 30 home runs, 94 RBIs, nine stolen bases and 82 walks before being called up to the Arizona Diamondbacks after 103 games for the Southern League team.
In the Majors, Goldschmidt has hit 340 home runs and surpassed 1,100 runs and RBIs. For his career, the seven-time member of the National League All-Star team has a .293 batting average, .388 on-base average and .519 slugging percentage.
A prep star at Enterprise, Donovan had a .311 batting average, .437 on-base average and .477 slugging percentage while playing in the Port City for South Alabama from 2016 through 2018.
A seventh-round selection of the Cardinals in the 2018 draft, Donovan reached the Majors in 2022. In two seasons, he has a .283 batting average, .381 on-base average and .398 slugging percentage.
Donovan won the National League Gold Glove for fielding excellence by a utility player and finished third in the balloting for the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 2022.
Ligament damage in his throwing arm cut short Donovan’s second season as he had surgery after playing in 95 games in 2023.
“For me, I know it’s good because I’m not thinking about it,” Donovan said. “Nothing pops in my head when I’m diving for a ball or letting one go on a relay. I had a relay for home the other day, and I was like, ‘Huh, I didn’t even think about that.’ For me that shows we did the rehab right and I’m in good spot.”
In two seasons for the Cardinals, Donovan has played all over the field – 72 games at second base, 40 in left field, 37 at third base, 34 at designated hitter, 30 at first base, 29 in right field and eight at shortstop.
St. Louis might have intended to have Donovan more settled in 2024, but it doesn’t appear as though that will happen, at least early in the season. The Cardinals enter the campaign with injury concerns in the outfield with Tommy Edman and Lars Nootbar and at second base with Nolan Gorman.
“The game happens, and you have to make adjustments,” St. Louis manager Oli Marmol said. “Thankfully, we do have the versatility in Donovan, and, thankfully, he has the mindset to be able to do it. He doesn’t mind it. To steady the defense, we would have preferred to not have to go that route, but here we are.”
The Cardinals open their 2024 schedule against the Dodgers at 3:10 p.m. CDT Thursday at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.