One other Fantastic Addition to Their Assortment: Mariners Purchase Brendan Donovan in Three-Group Swap

The very first thing Chaim Bloom did after taking on baseball operations in St. Louis was commerce away every little thing that wasn’t nailed down. Sonny Grey? Thanks to your contributions, now go attempt to win a hoop in Boston. Willson Contreras? Gone, and to the identical group. Nolan Arenado? Thanks for the reminiscences, benefit from the desert. With these trades sorted, he’s moved on to step two: prying up a few of these aforementioned nails to make extra offers. The newest shoe to drop within the Cardinals retooling is perhaps the largest one, although. Brendan Donovan is now a Seattle Mariner, the important thing piece in a three-team commerce that sends Ben Williamson to Tampa Bay and a heaping serving to of prospects and draft picks to the Cardinals.

Donovan isn’t a family title like lots of the greatest Cardinals of current years, however that has much more to do with the group’s middling success of late than any lack of expertise. His mixture of versatility and offensive firepower calls to thoughts Ben Zobrist, and in contrast to nearly each different versatile defender who will get in comparison with Zobrist, this one truly is smart. Zobrist ran a 121 wRC+ throughout his seven-year peak. Donovan’s profession mark is 119, the identical as his 2025 complete. He’s beneath group management for 2 extra years at an affordable charge, too: $5.8 million this 12 months, along with his final journey by means of arbitration set for 2027.

“A plus bat who can play protection in all places” usually isn’t a great title to have utilized to you. That’s as a result of many of the hitters who obtain that label both aren’t plus bats, don’t play good protection, or each. However as I discussed, that’s not Donovan, and we’d as properly study every of these two expertise, as he’s your complete purpose this commerce occurred, the perfect participant going to any of the three golf equipment by a mile.

On offense, Donovan performs like a tough approximation of Steven Kwan. His standout ability is the form of batting eye/contact combo you’d draw up in a lab. For those who throw him one thing exterior of the strike zone, he’s in all probability not going to swing at it. He chased simply 25% of the dangerous pitches he noticed in 2025, a Seventieth-percentile mark league huge and coincidentally the worst mark of his profession. When he did swing, he made contact at a Ninety fifth-percentile clip, with a swinging strike charge lower than half the large league common. That signifies that he takes a good variety of walks despite the fact that pitchers have little interest in giving him a free move.

Like I mentioned, that’s mainly Steven Kwan. The distinction is that Donovan swings the bat six ticks sooner on common. He posts league common exit velocities due to a respectably quick bat and an absolute mountain of bat management, along with his squared-up charge within the 96th percentile. Let’s put it this manner: Donovan has a profession 42.4% hard-hit charge. Kwan has a profession charge of 20%, whereas Luis Arraez checks in at 26%. That mixture signifies that Donovan’s line drives skip previous outfielders and to the wall much more often than his less-powerful brethren. His profession .130 ISO isn’t precisely gaudy – the league common hovers round .160 – but it surely’s spectacular within the context of the remainder of his offensive expertise.

Even higher for the Mariners, Donovan seems to me like a stable match for his or her park. T-Cellular is brutal for hitters, but it surely’s much less punishing for lefties, notably lefties who get numerous worth from singles and doubles. It’s not even so cavernous that he can’t hit homers there; Busch Stadium is more durable for lefty house run hitters. The largest factor that makes T-Cellular a pitcher’s park is how rather more often hitters strike on the market. I actually can’t let you know precisely why that’s — theories abound — however figuring out that’s the issue, I don’t hate a man who simply doesn’t strike out as an answer.

Hitting someplace close to the highest of the order, Donovan goes to place opponents in a bind. He will get on base a ton. He hits for a excessive sufficient common, and does sufficient injury, that simply lobbing the ball down the center isn’t an important counter. With a minimum of one in all Cal Raleigh or Julio Rodríguez presumably lurking behind him, letting him attain base goes to really feel very dangerous. We’re projecting him because the fourth-best Mariners hitter, behind these two and Josh Naylor, however I’ll go forward and name it now: Donovan goes to be the hitter that pitchers are most irritated to face. Snap off three good sliders in opposition to Raleigh or Rodríguez, and you may in all probability get them out. Snap off three good sliders in opposition to Donovan, and it’s in all probability a 2-1 depend.

Whereas Donovan’s offensive upside is clear, his defensive worth is extra nebulous. Sure, he received a Gold Glove in 2022, but it surely was the utility Gold Glove that appears to typically simply reward guys who play a number of positions, relatively than guys who play a number of positions properly. He’s performed extra second base than every other place within the majors, and he’s roughly common there: -5 DRS, +1 FRV. He’s been good in a small pattern at third, dangerous in a small pattern at first, and “wait, what why are you even attempting this?” in a fair smaller pattern at quick.

His second-most-frequent place isn’t any of these infield spots, however left discipline. I believe he’s an satisfactory outfield defender, although our fashions are blended: DRS thinks he’s been two runs above common in his 1,450 innings, whereas Statcast’s FRV thinks he’s been 5 runs under common. So far as I’m involved, I wouldn’t need to play him on the market however wouldn’t really feel terrible if I needed to. In reality, that almost describes Donovan in all places on the diamond: remarkably competent.

In Seattle, that’s going to imply a heaping serving to of third base to begin out. We had Williamson atop the depth chart there earlier than this commerce, and never a lot behind him. Donovan is a straightforward substitution on the scorching nook, however he can do greater than that. Cole Younger is coming into the 12 months with the within monitor on the second base job, however he additionally seemed overmatched on the plate in his 77-game main league debut final 12 months. J.P. Crawford’s fielding is headed south, and he’s extra of an offensive contributor than a key fielder today. That offense cratered within the second half final 12 months, although, so the long run seems unsure. High shortstop prospect Colt Emerson is knocking on the door, however we aren’t certain if he’ll stick at quick long-term, and he’d be a greater match at third than at second.

In different phrases, the infield is an advanced mixture of transferring items, an intricate puzzle to be solved. What higher approach to deal with that than with a man who performs in all places? Irrespective of who the odd man out is, there’s in all probability some configuration involving Donovan that works. That’s nice information for a Mariners group that needed to play some dicey bats to make their infield protection work in 2025. They handed 684 plate appearances to the mix of Williamson, Dylan Moore, and Donovan Solano final 12 months, and obtained an 80 wRC+ and meh protection within the combination for his or her bother. That’s a Donovan-sized gap that may add one thing like three wins if full of the real article.

To make that giant improve, the Mariners despatched the Playing cards two intriguing younger prospects, Jurrangelo Cijntje and Tai Peete, in addition to a Comp Spherical B decide. The headliner of the deal is Cijntje, a 2024 first spherical decide who’s most notable for his switch-pitching. He has monster potential as a righty, sitting within the higher 90s with a nasty fastball and secondaries that flash very properly at instances. As a lefty, he’s extra of a matchup man; decrease 90s, inconsistent form on his secondaries, intermittent command issues. He’s a 22-year-old who’s doing one thing that nearly nobody has ever completed, so it’s hardly shocking that he’s nonetheless growing, however proper now he seems like a righty starter plus slightly novelty worth. The Mariners had been reportedly planning on utilizing him as a righty to begin spring coaching, and it wouldn’t shock me to see the identical in St. Louis.

That’s a superb addition to their steady of younger pitching prospects, and I’d put him second on that checklist behind solely Liam Doyle, the fifth decide in final 12 months’s draft. Cijntje is an exceptional athlete who has the potential to enhance just about throughout the board, however he’s nonetheless a piece in progress. As Brendan Gawlowski put it in Cijntje’s write-up for our current Mariners prospect checklist, “Catch him on the precise day and also you would possibly put a no. 2 grade on him. However he’s inconsistent, maybe not unexpectedly given what number of reps he’s misplaced. His velo can dip mid-outing, and… he’ll lose his launch level and begin spraying the ball in all places however the goal.” Regardless of his intermittent command, he racked up gaudy strikeout numbers in his first professional season by outstuffing individuals, to borrow Brendan’s phrase. If he doesn’t have the command to be a starter, he has the stuff to shut as a righty, after which there’s nonetheless the entire switch-pitching factor. In different phrases, there’s numerous variance sooner or later outcomes right here.

Do I understand how the Cardinals will use him? I don’t also have a clue. Seattle struggled with this actual query final 12 months. Whereas he’s clearly higher as a righty, that also leaves numerous choices. Is he a righty starter plus a lefty reliever, however solely separately? An ambidextrous nearer? A righty starter who’s his personal LOOGY? A real switch-pitcher who wears a six-fingered glove to the mound and goes all Pat Venditte on guys? The almost certainly final result is the boring one — a righty starter with minimal lefty pitching — however there’s an opportunity that he finally ends up being very enjoyable. He’s a 50 FV prospect on The Board, and I like the percentages of him growing slightly bit higher than that.

Peete was a first-rounder a 12 months earlier than Cijntje as a excessive schooler out of Georgia. He’s additionally an exceptional athlete, with plus uncooked energy, a powerful arm, and simple plus pace. He took up middle discipline as knowledgeable and seemed superb within the outfield in 2025. There’s only one downside: his bat management. Now, the hit instrument is simply one of many 5 instruments, but it surely’s absolutely an important one. Peete has struck out round 30% of the time, and he’s completed that very constantly throughout a number of ranges. As Brendan famous, it’s the scary form of strikeout downside, too: a 44% whiff charge in opposition to breaking pitches, huge non-competitive hacks at fastballs out of the zone, every little thing you may think about. Again after I used to hunt for breakout prospect picks, I cared lots about strikeouts on the decrease ranges. For those who’re swinging and lacking that usually in opposition to 20-year-olds, the majors is perhaps out of the query.

The counter to that’s that knowledge can lie. Certain, batters who strike out 30% of the time in A-ball often don’t pan out. However these batters are usually dangerous. I imply, clearly – they’re placing out lots within the low minors. Groups draft plenty of gamers who even they don’t assume will attain the majors. They offer numerous enjoying time to lengthy pictures and improvement initiatives. Peete’s cohort of whiff-prone minor leaguers nearly definitely seems nothing like him. He’s a tooled-out first rounder who would possibly be capable of contribute within the majors even when he by no means hits. It’s affordable to offer him slightly grace right here. Certain, most gamers like him don’t develop their offense sufficient to hit main league pitching, but when he does, the upside is big. We’ve got him as a 40+ FV, however with enormous error bars; there are detailed write-ups of each him and Cijntje on that aforementioned Mariners checklist.

Oh yeah! The Rays obtained in on this commerce too, as they’re wont to do. They despatched Colton Ledbetter and a Comp Spherical B decide of their very own to the Cardinals and obtained Williamson from Seattle in change. Let’s cowl the St. Louis facet first, simply to get that out of the best way. Ledbetter is a 24-year-old outfielder who will doubtless begin 2026 in Double-A. Right here’s Eric Longenhagen on the final participant St. Louis is receiving:

After two underclass seasons at Samford, Ledbetter made a profitable transition to the SEC with Mississippi State in 2023 and was Tampa’s second spherical decide. He hit for energy at Excessive-A Bowling Inexperienced (45 extra-base hits in 109 video games, .484 SLG), however struck out at an alarming 28.3% clip. He reduce his strikeout charge to 23.9% at Double-A Montgomery in 2025, however misplaced the horny energy (simply seven homers, .378 SLG), partially because of the hitting setting of the Southern League. Ledbetter goes to swing beneath numerous fastballs and be a below-average contact hitter within the huge leagues, however he has extra-base energy to all fields in opposition to pitches within the backside two thirds of the zone. It’s not enormous uncooked energy, extra common, however Ledbetter has really feel for getting beneath the baseball and goes to spray numerous doubles.

Although he’s performed some middle discipline, he’s not speedy sufficient to be a group’s main middle fielder and may play within the corners (principally proper discipline). There are numerous flawed part-time outfielders with comparable strikeout points, however who’ve extra energy than Ledbetter (a comparatively maxed out 24-year-old) has or is apt to have. So I contemplate him a lesser, 1-ish WAR model of a platoon outfielder, a 40-FV prospect. He’ll be competing for a 40-man spot all through 2026.

A Comp Spherical B comes between the second and third rounds of the draft, with the Cardinals slated to obtain picks 68 and 72. The slot worth round there may be about $1.25 million, and that makes it a useful commerce commodity, whether or not the Playing cards wish to improve the dimensions of their draft pool by taking somebody underslot there and splashing the cash elsewhere, or simply plan to draft the perfect participant obtainable. The underslot plan will get lots higher with two of those picks – an additional $2 million and alter is a significant quantity of overslot cash to supply. Comp Spherical B picks from current years have become 40/40+ FV gamers on common, in order that’s an honest rule of thumb in the event you’re attempting to transform picks into prospect phrases you’re extra used to, however I believe the worth is larger than that. They’re a pleasant addition to the commerce, and I’d worth both fairly near the place I worth Peete, however clearly under Cijntje.

Williamson’s inclusion within the deal makes numerous sense for the Rays as they attempt to patch collectively an odd mixture of infielders. He seems to me like an elite defensive third baseman, and our prospect group and DRS concur. He’s primarily performed third as knowledgeable, however I believe that’s as a result of the Mariners had a number of choices blocking him at second, and the Rays have traditionally been very open to transferring defenders across the infield.

That’s good for a number of causes. First, the apparent place they’ll use Williamson is as a platoon accomplice for fellow current three-team-trade acquisition Gavin Lux. Lux is a mediocre defensive second baseman with huge platoon splits. Williamson isn’t a great hitter, however Lux has a profession 54 wRC+ in opposition to lefties. Williamson’s bat could be an improve on that, and his glove could be an enormous assist too.

Second, there’s a minimum of some likelihood that the Rays are getting out of the Taylor Partitions enterprise. Partitions makes me query my sanity yearly, and I wager the Rays really feel comparable confusion at instances. He’s a plus defender, however in a method that Statcast’s defensive metrics simply don’t purchase. Then again, his +17 protection at quick in solely 720 innings (DRS’ estimate) isn’t credible both. Baseball Prospectus’ RDA has him someplace within the center, and that appears affordable to me, however make no mistake, it is a difficult defensive analysis.

Then again, the offensive analysis is straightforward: He stinks. Partitions has a profession 70 wRC+, a career-high mark of 84, and a profession .195/.286/.298 slash line in the event you’re not a giant wRC+ fan. In different phrases, he’s an offensive black gap. At age 29, there’s not numerous hope that he’s going to enhance. His stroll charge plummeted in 2025 when pitchers realized he has a profession .104 ISO and began flooding the zone; you may think about issues tilting even farther from right here. In different phrases, a backup plan appears smart. Now, the long-term backup plan isn’t even actually a backup, it’s high prospect Carson Williams. He had a tough 2025, although, and his 40% strikeout charge in a 100-plate look cup of espresso signifies that the Rays in all probability shouldn’t depend on him breaking out early in 2026. Williamson may not have a lot skilled expertise at shortstop, however I’m fairly certain Tampa Bay will a minimum of attempt him there.

I’m in all probability singing Williamson’s praises slightly an excessive amount of right here. Like Partitions, there’s an honest change that he can’t hit main league pitching for lengthy. For those who assume Partitions didn’t hit for a lot energy final 12 months, wait till I let you know about Williamson’s .058 ISO and one homer in 295 plate appearances. However he’s a pleasant rotational infielder, and Tampa Bay loves its good rotational infielders. I don’t assume this is similar form of coup for them that the Lux deal was, however I recognize what they’re doing right here by shaping their roster within the path they need by stepping in as a intermediary within the commerce to make one group’s return (St. Louis’, on this case) match up extra intently with their coronary heart’s need.

Talking of what the Cardinals most need, it’s time for some commerce grades. The Rays get a B- from me, which works out. I consider their group as a machine for turning barely optimistic EV selections into huge edges, mainly aiming for as many B- offers as potential. Small edges are solely small in the event that they don’t compound. This suits just about completely into their technique – however because it impacts their franchise meaningfully lower than the 2 different groups within the commerce, they get solely a brief paragraph.

The Cardinals appear to be they’re not going to cease till the most important league roster is devoid of contributors who’re approaching free company. Donovan was the prize of their hoard of commerce chips, and so they opted for a return that’s amount over high quality however has a transparent headliner. Cijntje is dangerous however he has an enormous ceiling, the precise form of pitcher the Cardinals appear to be aiming for as they rebuild their farm system. Peete and Ledbetter are extra within the dart throw vein, however as I really like mentioning in these commerce evaluations, one of the simplest ways to be good at dart throws is by throwing numerous darts. Two Comp Spherical B picks imply that the Playing cards are going to have a ton of draft flexibility; whereas they draft thirteenth this 12 months, they might feasibly attempt to float somebody from the highest 5 with all the additional bonus cash they’ll provide due to their expanded pool. Add all of it up, and I believe that the Cardinals obtained honest worth for Donovan – my surplus worth mannequin has them popping out forward, however that’s just about all the time the case once you commerce the perfect participant in a deal that options 5 gamers and two draft picks.

The Mariners, in the meantime, have pulled off a nifty little renovation. Between Naylor and Donovan, they’ve made their offense lots OBP-heavier than it had been, and stacking OBP could be very useful when you have already got a great offense. Cijntje was an odd match on a group with elite starters already; Donovan goes to be phenomenally extra helpful to them. Williamson is a useful main leaguer, however he was getting squeezed by the prospects arising behind him and Donovan’s arrival, so he was expendable. Peete is the kind of man who will get moved to rebuilders from contenders: tooled up, inconsistent, and possibly in want numerous enjoying time to determine what’s there. It’s a basic case the place a dime and 4 nickels are much less helpful to the Mariners than 1 / 4. You possibly can’t lean on this path too often, however I believe that this was a superb time for Seattle to make use of minor leaguers who weren’t within the group’s rapid plans to chase short-term enchancment.

In order that’s the deal. The Rays get some wanted insurance coverage on the infield. The Cardinals start the a part of their rebuild the place they take the roster right down to the studs, all whereas hoping Cijntje’s upside will elevate the ceiling. And the Mariners? They reinforce the highest of their lineup with Donovan, who our personal Davy Andrews has in comparison with a breakfast nook. Not that I’m certain the nickname will stick.