Needing one more piece to solidify their everyday lineup, the Seattle Mariners acquired All-Star infielder Brendan Donovan from the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday to highlight a three-team deal that also included the Tampa Bay Rays.
The versatile Donovan, 29, earned an All-Star spot last year as a second baseman, but he appeared at every position except pitcher, catcher and center field during his four-year run with the Cardinals that featured a slash line of .282/.361/.411. He earned a Gold Glove for his utility work during his rookie year in 2022.
“It’s tough to imagine a better fit for our current team than Brendan,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said in a statement. “His combination of offensive skill, defensive versatility, consistency in performance, baseball instincts, and quality of character line up with what we value most.”
To nab Donovan, who has a $5.8 million deal for 2026 and another year beyond that before becoming a free agent, the Mariners sent 2024 first-round pick Jurrangelo Cijntje, a switch-pitcher, and 2023 first-round pick Tai Peete to St. Louis and second-year third baseman Ben Williamson to Tampa Bay.
The Rays, in turn, sent Double-A outfielder Colton Ledbetter and a Competitive Balance Round B draft pick in the upcoming MLB Draft (No. 72) to the Cardinals. The Mariners also sent a Comp Round B pick to the Cardinals that will be No. 68.
Donovan gives the Mariners a fourth 2025 All-Star for their lineup — joining catcher Cal Raleigh, center fielder Julio Rodriguez and left fielder Randy Arozarena. Donovan can fit in at third base, which Eugenio Suarez vacated as a free agent ticketed for the Cincinnati Reds, or he can move to second if the Mariners decide 22-year-old Cole Young isn’t ready to be a regular there.
Cijntje provides the Cardinals yet another young starter with six years of control. The 22-year-old Netherlands native made 26 appearances (23 starts) between High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas last season and compiled a 5-7 record with a 3.99 ERA, 120 strikeouts and 51 walks.
Of the 459 batters he faced last year, Cijntje threw right-handed to 397 of them. He piled up 111 strikeouts versus 32 walks as a righty but nine strikeouts and 19 walks as a lefty. He ranked as Seattle’s No. 7 prospect per Baseball America.
Peete, 20, hit just .217 while spending all last season at High-A Everett, but he produced 19 homers and 25 steals while playing center field. Baseball America rated him as the Mariners’ No. 10 prospect.
“We are pleased that, because of this deal, we will add five more promising young players to the talent pipeline that has always fueled this organization’s sustained success,” Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said in a statement. “We believe we’ve added exciting athleticism and upside on both sides of the ball, with more to come in this summer’s draft.”
Williamson, Seattle’s second-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, made his big-league debut last year and compiled a .253/.294/.310 slash line in 85 games with one homer, 21 RBIs and five steals. The 25-year-old did not appear during the Mariners’ postseason run to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
Ledbetter, 24, spent all of 2025 with Double-A Montgomery and fashioned a .265 average with 37 stolen bases and seven homers. Ledbetter and Cijntje were teammates at Mississippi State in 2023.
–Field Level Media
