Yankees appear to bite the dust on desired trade candidate after latest rumor

While it isn't a top priority, a reimagining of the New York Yankees' infield felt like something that we might see this winter. Part of that was the need for a platoon partner for Ryan McMahon, though presumably, the re-signing of Amed Rosario scratched that itch.

That's not all, though. There have been rumblings of competition for Anthony Volpe at shortstop. Then there's the persistent trade rumors surrounding Jazz Chisholm Jr.

One name that has been tied to the Yankees has been versatile St. Louis Cardinals All-Star Brendan Donovan.

There's a lot to like about Donovan. He's a contact maven with a career .282 batting average. He's coming off a year in which he slashed .287/.353/.422. He owns a career 119 wRC+. And, perhaps most importantly, he rarely strikes out, posting just a 13.5% K-rate for his career.

Add in the fact that he brings positional versatility and solid glovework, and you've got a really nice player to have. If we're to believe the latest rumors, however, he won't be heading to New York.

Latest rumors have the Yankees being left out in the cold in their pursuit of Cardinals star Brendan Donovan

According to The Athletic's Katie Woo, it is the Seattle Mariners and the San Francisco Giants who are the most likely clubs to land Donovan.

Both of those clubs are said to be aggressive in their pursuit of Donovan, though they're both also in on Ketel Marte. It sort of feels like Marte is the ultimate prize, but one of these two clubs will come away with Donovan as a consolation.

As much as Donovan would have brought balance to the Yankees through his skill set, as currently constructed, he's not a perfect fit. His best two positions are second base (where the Yankees don't currently have a need) and left field (where they do), but as another left-handed bat, adding him would only exacerbate the extreme left-handedness of the lineup.

That is, unless another move preceded a Donovan trade. At that point, the Yankees' interest would really make sense. Hypothetically, if the Yankees were to deal Jazz Chisholm Jr. as part of a blockbuster and then make a move for Donovan to fill that void, it could make a ton of sense.

However, it looks like we won't get the chance to see if something along those lines was on Brian Cashman's mind, because the Cardinals and Giants are both aggressive in their pursuit of Donovan while the Yankees and aggressiveness have been polar opposites this winter.

At the end of the day, it looks like there will be no infield restructure, and Donovan will be a name that the Yankees merely checked in on, but never truly pursued in earnest.