St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan is dealing with an injury to his big toe, but told reporters on Wednesday that he thinks he will avoid an IL stint. Donovan left Tuesday’s 10-9 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays with left toe discomfort. He is day-to-day with the injury, though he is not being placed on the IL as an MRI didn’t reveal a break.
Appears to Have Avoided a Serious Injury
Donovan has been diagnosed with a sprained capsule in his left big toe. He told reporters on Wednesday that he was feeling better than the day before after receiving treatment to reduce inflammation.
“We did a bunch of stuff to it today, and it’s feeling better,” Donovan told reporters. “We’re just going to reevaluate it and go from there.”
Donovan said they would reevaluate the injury in a couple of days, maybe sooner. He is heading to Milwaukee for the Cardinal’s weekend series against the Brewers. He hopes he can play at some point in the series. While he’ll miss at least another game or two, he doesn’t think he’ll be placed on the IL.
“I’m not concerned about that,” Donovan said about a potential IL stint. “I think that would be worst case scenario but I’m feeling much better today.”
Because of the nature of the injury, Donovan can’t just hit. He told reporters that if he’s going to play, it’s going to be full go, ruling out the potential for a DH start or pinch-hit appearance.
Nolan Gorman Stepping into Second Base
The plan until Donovan gets better is to have Nolan Gorman fill in at second base. Gorman has struggled this season, slashing .229/.317/.390. However, he has been heating up of late. In the past 15 days, Gorman has a slash line of .350/.409/.700. In that span, he’s had two home runs and five RBI.
Gorman wasn’t getting much playing time early in the season. However, a recent injury to outfielder Jordan Walker provided some wiggle room in the roster to get him on the field more. Among players with at least 100 at-bats on the team, Gorman is second on the team in strikeout percentage at 29.1 percent. Only Jordan Walker is striking out more at 33.1 percent. His strikeout rate has improved from the past two seasons; it’s eight percent lower than his 2024 rate.
The 2018 first-round pick is improving in his plate discipline. Gorman’s walk rate of 11.8 percent is second on the team this season, behind only outfielder and lead-off hitter Lars Nootbaar.
Donovan Has Been the Cardinals Best Weapon
Donovan has been a core figure in the Cardinals offensive success this season. He leads all second basemen in batting average and is second in on-base percentage and slugging percentage with his .310/.379/.440 slash line. He also leads all second basemen in OPS at .819, hits at 77, and doubles at 20.
The Cardinals can ill-afford to play without their star. The team is faltering after a red-hot May. They have lost two out of their last three series, including a sweep to the Blue Jays this week.
Walker, who had been swinging a hot bat before his injury, is scheduled to start a rehab assignment soon. The Cardinals could rebound in the coming week with the help of Donovan and Walker, if both return to health in the days ahead.
Main Photo Credits: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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