The latest on potential Mariners trade target Brendan Donovan

We may find out soon whether or not a trade for Brendan Donovan is in the cards for the Seattle Mariners this offseason.

Reports: All-Star 2B Ketel Marte taken off trade market by Arizona

The 2025 National League All-Star and veteran utility man could be the next player on the move as part of the St. Louis Cardinals’ rebuild under new team president Chaim Bloom.

The Cardinals traded pitcher Sonny Gray and first baseman Willson Contreras to the Boston Red Sox earlier this winter, and on Tuesday shipped third baseman Nolan Arenado to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Following the Arenado trade, speculation has ramped back up on a potential deal involving Donovan, who was been linked to the Mariners in trade rumors for a few months at this point.

Katie Woo of The Athletic addressed the Cardinals’ situation with Donovan when she joined MLB Network’s MLB Tonight following the Arenado trade on Tuesday, saying that St. Louis is “still debating” whether it will trade Donovan.

“I think across the industry there has been some surprise that he’s not been traded yet,” Woo said. “But when you think about what the Cardinals are doing from their perspective, Brendan Donovan represents their best chance to get as much of a return as possible in terms of prospect value.”

What's next for the Cardinals after trading Nolan Arenado?@katiejwoo joins #MLBTonight with potential plans for third base and the latest on the market for Brendan Donovan. pic.twitter.com/WJWuu2BYlj

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 13, 2026

Donovan is set to make $5.8 million in 2026, and he’s under team control through 2027. That makes him much more valuable on the trade market than Gray, Contreras and Arenado, who all have big contracts and are 33 years or older. And the interest in Donovan reflects that.

“The Cardinals have been very active this offseason… but the primary purpose of those trades was to offload significant veteran money,” Woo said. “The Cardinals have taken a lot of money for a lot of those contracts that they’ve moved off, and the return was kind of second nature. They also wanted to open up some spots for their younger guys by offloading the veterans. That’s not the case for Donovan. Donovan has real interest. He’s been connected to the Mariners, the Giants, even the Red Sox.”

Donovan, who will turn 29 on Friday, is still young enough that he could be a cornerstone for St. Louis as it goes through its rebuild, giving the Cardinals some leverage in trade talks.

“The reason why (a decision on potentially trading Donovan) is taking a little bit longer is because St. Louis is still deciding whether or not they want to trade him,” Woo said. “Again, it comes down to the prospect return. They’re not going to do it unless they’re simply blown away by the offer.”

The Mariners have the prospect capital to make a Donovan trade happen, with seven prospects ranked in the top 100 overall in the game by MLB. But they also don’t necessarily need to make a trade for Donovan, as they have three young infielders – Ben Williamson, Cole Young and No. 9 overall prospect Colt Emerson – that could fill their two unsettled positions (second base and third base) that a trade for Donovan would help solidify.

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As for competition on the trade market, the Giants seem like a more viable threat to the Mariners than the Red Sox, based on what longtime MLB insider Ken Rosenthal wrote in a column for The Athletic published Wednesday morning.

“Brendan Donovan figures to be less appealing to the Sox, who already feature a surplus of left-handed hitters,” Rosenthal wrote.

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