Mariners lastly make their large offseason transfer, bolster infield by buying Brendan Donovan from Cardinals

[ad_1] With just a little assist from a well-known facilitator, the Seattle Mariners lastly executed the deal they’d been pursuing all winter on Monday, buying Brendan Donovan from the St. Louis Cardinals. The deal is a three-way swap together with the Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle’s most frequent commerce associate throughout president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto’s decade-long tenure main the entrance workplace. After months of reviews indicating Seattle’s curiosity in Donovan — and uncertainty about whether or not the Cardinals would truly half with him as a part of their dramatic offseason of offloading — it’s becoming that the Rays’ shock involvement helped push this deal throughout the end line.

Right here’s the breakdown:

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Mariners obtain: INF/OF Brendan Donovan (from Cardinals)

Cardinals obtain: RHP Jurrangelo Cijntje (from Mariners), OF Tai Peete (from Mariners), OF Colton Ledbetter (from Rays), Aggressive Steadiness Spherical B Choose (presently No. 68, from Mariners), Aggressive Steadiness Spherical B Choose (presently No. 72, from Rays)

Rays obtain: INF Ben Williamson (from Mariners)

All offseason, Donovan was closely rumored to be on the high of the Mariners’ want checklist as they sought to replenish each their infield and their lineup within the wake of Jorge Polanco and Eugenio Suarez each departing in free company. Re-signing Josh Naylor in November to a five-year deal solidified first base and supplied a middle-of-the-order bat, however sufficient uncertainty remained at second and third base that one other infield addition felt mandatory. Given Donovan’s expertise at each positions, his above-average, left-handed bat and his two years of workforce management remaining, the 29-year-old surfaced as the best candidate for the Mariners, particularly contemplating their glorious farm system to deal from. Nonetheless, Seattle had been awfully, uncharacteristically quiet within the months since retaining Naylor, with their solely main additions a commerce for lefty reliever Jose A. Ferrer and a one-year deal for platoon slugger Rob Refsnyder.

With spring coaching approaching, it appeared more and more probably that Seattle would entrust its proficient but unproven younger gamers — Cole Younger, Ben Williamson, high prospect Colt Emerson — with a number of infield spots, a dangerous technique for a workforce with World Sequence ambitions. Then president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto explicitly said on the workforce’s fan fest over the weekend that the membership hoped so as to add yet one more piece to the major-league roster. There’s at all times threat in entrance workplace officers publicly promising such additions, if even vaguely, however evidently Dipoto was assured sufficient a couple of Donovan deal to present an apparent trace to the fan base.

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Positive sufficient, Donovan now joins the Mariners after eight years within the Cardinals group. Born in Germany whereas his father, a colonel within the U.S. Military, was stationed abroad, Donovan bounced round so much rising up however finally settled in Alabama, the place he performed in highschool and on the College of South Alabama. He was comparatively unheralded as an newbie however performed his approach onto the prospect radar after becoming a member of the Cardinals as a seventh-round decide in 2018. In 2021, he hit .304/.399/.455 throughout three ranges, reaching Triple-A to place himself in place for an early call-up the next season. He rode that momentum to a terrific debut marketing campaign in 2022, bursting on the scene as a vital cog for the 93-win, NL Central champion Cardinals. His .394 on-base proportion was the fifth-highest mark by a rookie with a minimum of 450 plate appearances this century — behind solely the Cooperstown-bound quarter of Aaron Decide, Juan Soto, Albert Pujols and Mike Trout — and he completed third in NL Rookie of the 12 months voting.

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Within the three years since then, though he hasn’t replicated the lofty OBP of his debut marketing campaign, Donovan has continued to achieve base at an above-average clip, due to his superior plate self-discipline and excellent contact abilities: Amongst 103 hitters with a minimum of 1,500 plate appearances the previous three seasons, Donovan’s .351 OBP ranks twenty fourth, and his 13.1% strikeout fee ranks seventh-lowest. That ability set makes him an intriguing candidate to steer off for Seattle, a minimum of towards right-handers, as a logical table-setter forward of sluggers Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, Naylor and Randy Arozarena.

To be honest, Donovan additionally has his limitations with the bat. His modest uncooked energy has translated to only 40 residence runs in 492 profession video games, and his hard-hit charges are unremarkable. He has additionally constantly struggled towards southpaws, with a .651 OPS towards lefties in comparison with a .812 mark vs. right-handers. On the entire, Donovan’s below-average pop and sharp platoon splits have capped his offensive ceiling at extra good than nice.

However that regular output on the plate has shined in tandem along with his assorted defensive versatility, which has outlined Donovan for basically his total profession. After beginning practically each recreation in left area as a freshman at South Alabama in 2016, Donovan has spent the previous decade shifting across the diamond and proving proficient at a number of spots. As a rookie, he began video games at each place besides catcher and middle area, incomes the first-ever utility Gold Glove within the NL.

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Extra lately, the overwhelming majority of Donovan’s enjoying time has come at second base and left area. In Seattle, the main focus will probably be on second and third, a place Donovan hasn’t performed as a lot attributable to Nolan Arenado’s presence in St. Louis. However assuming the Mariners are nonetheless assured in Donovan’s means to man the new nook, a brand new style of questions emerge relating to the opposite infielders on the Mariners’ depth chart. Williamson’s inclusion on this deal removes one identify from the equation, however including Donovan units up a contest in spring coaching between the 22-year-old Younger and the 20-year-old Emerson for the opposite beginning infield spot, with Naylor at first base and J.P. Crawford at shortstop.

Having made his major-league debut final summer time, Younger would appear to have a leg up in such a contest, and the Mariners assume extremely of his means to grow to be an above-average starter on the keystone. However Emerson — a pure shortstop who has additionally seen time at third on his meteoric rise by way of the minors — is a consensus top-10 prospect in all of MLB and might need the form of expertise to pressure the difficulty. If he explodes in spring and wins the third-base job, that might probably ship Younger to Triple-A to maintain getting every-day at-bats whereas Donovan stays at second. Alternatively, Emerson appears just like the inheritor obvious to Crawford at shortstop, with Crawford slated to hit free company after this season. So whereas the Mariners are probably hoping Emerson and Younger will contribute in 2026, bringing in Donovan dramatically lessens the urgency for each of them to take action instantly.

Williamson, in the meantime, departs Seattle’s crowded infield image to affix a new-look Rays roster that has added loads of recent faces this offseason. Tampa Bay seems to be in a transition of kinds. If not a full-blown rebuild, it’s a minimum of an acknowledgment that the 4 different AL East groups are loading up in a approach that makes competing within the short-term unlikely for the Rays, main them to prioritize long-term belongings.

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Whereas Williamson’s bat remains to be a piece in progress after being rushed to the majors to fill Seattle’s third-base want, he has garnered a fame as a improbable infield defender. Apparently, that has largely been earned at third base, a place that might appear to be blocked in Tampa by Junior Caminero. As an alternative, Williamson will probably see time at second base as a right-handed complement to the lately acquired Gavin Lux. Whereas the acquisition value wasn’t outlandish, the Rays should have had a positive view of Williamson to have even bothered wiggling their approach into this deal. As such, his improvement in Tampa will probably be price monitoring.

For the Cardinals, including a 3rd workforce to the deal was a nifty technique to maximize the return for a participant they weren’t essentially intent on dealing earlier than Opening Day. Slated to make simply $5.8 million this season and beneath workforce management for 2027 as nicely, Donovan represented a way more priceless commerce chip than high-paid veterans akin to Sonny Grey, Willson Contreras and Nolan Arenado, all of whom had been moved for extra middling returns as St. Louis prioritized clearing their salaries and opening enjoying time for younger gamers. Donovan, in the meantime, may’ve stayed put till the deadline if the Cardinals had been unhappy with affords. However finally, Seattle and Tampa Bay mixed to type a worthwhile bundle, culminating within the newest future-focused transaction from new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom.

Within the return for St. Louis, Cijtnje is the prize — and a captivating one at that. Not turning 23 till Could, Cijtnje has been enjoying in entrance of massive audiences for years, having starred for Workforce Curacao on the 2016 Little League World Sequence. It was in Williamsport that he first demonstrated his particular ability of switch-pitching, a exceptional show of ambidextrousness that gained notoriety as he obtained older and thrived at the highschool and collegiate ranges. The Mariners chosen him with the fifteenth decide in 2024 out of Mississippi State College and allowed him to maintain switch-pitching throughout his first full skilled season in 2025. However Cijtnje has at all times projected much more favorably from the best facet, and when Seattle introduced Cijtnje as a non-roster invite to spring coaching final week, he was labeled as a right-hander solely. The Cardinals additionally tabbed him as such when saying the commerce on Monday.

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Together with his days as a switch-pitcher sadly behind him, Cijtnje can now concentrate on his improvement with out worrying about fixing how you can incorporate his weaker facet. At simply five-foot-11, he doesn’t have the everyday body of a rotation workhorse, however he’s robust and durable, and his stuff resembles that of an impression starter, with high-90s velocity and a very good slider to go along with a quickly enhancing changeup. He pitched nicely in Double-A final season, so it’s not out of the query that Cijtnje may pitch his technique to the majors sooner or later in 2026 if issues proceed to click on.

Peete and Ledbetter are two outfielders with engaging pedigrees and so much to show in 2026. Peete was the thirtieth decide in 2023 as one of many youngest gamers in his highschool class. He’s an incredible athlete who has transitioned to the outfield after being drafted as a shortstop and will grow to be a middle fielder with plus energy, however his hit software wants severe refining for that final result to manifest on the highest degree. Ledbetter was additionally drafted early in 2023 (fifty fifth total) after starring at Mississippi State, the place he was Cijtnje’s teammate. What was lauded as a complicated hit-power mixture as an newbie has but to totally translate to professional ball, however he reached Double-A final 12 months and will discover a new gear with a change of surroundings.

Lastly, including not one however two picks on this summer time’s draft is an effective way for St. Louis to proceed restocking its ascendent farm system. Because the draft order stands now — and it'd change barely as soon as the ultimate two free brokers with qualifying affords hooked up (Framber Valdez and Zac Gallen) signal — the Cardinals personal six picks within the top-100: Nos. 13, 32, 50, 68, 72 and 86. That haul will equate to one of many largest bonus swimming pools of any workforce, which can afford St. Louis’ newbie scouting division the pliability to reel in one other loaded wave of thrilling younger expertise this summer time.