Brendan Donovan makes a mark in Mariners Cactus League debut

And in the fifth game, new Seattle Mariners leadoff hitter Brendan Donovan finally played.

Coming off an October surgery for a sports hernia, the Mariners thought it prudent they gave their prized acquisition a little extra time to get a good foundation heading into Cactus League games. On a new team, playing a newish position with plenty of opportunity for spring plate appearances to come, the move made sense.

Mariners prospect named one of MLB’s early spring standouts early

When the moment came Tuesday, Donovan admitted, yes, it was a bit different taking the field for the first time in something other than Cardinal red.

“I had some jitters, I’m not going to lie,” he said after coming out of the Mariners’ 12-10 loss to the White Sox. “New team, first time playing. For me I just wanted to be under control, make sure I was going on good pitches. I wanted to get something off the barrel too.”

That he did, twice, going 2 for 2 with a run scored. His first hit as a Mariner came in the first inning on a single to right.

“I got on first base and I saw Cal (Raleigh) come up and I thought, I’m in scoring position right now,” Donovan said. “So just making sure I was looking for any chance to get an extra 90 feet but not take the bat out of his hands, and before you know it, the bases are loaded. I’m thinking this has a chance to be a really special lineup.”

In his second at-bat, Donovan shot a ball into center on a line drive that left the bat at 102.7 mph. He was lifted for a pinch runner and trotted back to the dugout, where he was able to watch Raleigh hit his first home run of the spring, a 427-foot blast to center.

Mariners Highlights: Donovan gets two hits and Cal homers

While his work for the day was done, Donovan could have gathered his gear and jogged back to the clubhouse. Instead, he chose to stick around in the dugout with his new team. With the lineup featuring seven starting players, he saw a good opportunity to get some quality time with them.

“I’m new here,” he said. “I’m trying to see how people play, talk to and build relationships on a personal level, and I feel that’s important to do in the dugout too. I believe in getting to know someone as a person too and then you get to know them as a player as well. That’s an area I tried to lean into today. I’m glad I was able to hang out a little later.”

The game featured a rarity: a starting player getting five plate appearances, as Raleigh committed to playing seven innings behind the plate as he continues to build up to play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

Raleigh added a 103.1 mph single against White Sox lefty Tyler Schweitzer in the seventh inning before being lifted for a pinch-runner.

“He could have come out after six,” manager Dan Wilson said. “I asked him and he wanted to stay in. I think the thing that was impressive was that line drive to right field and how he came out of the box. It was a dead sprint and that’s the kind of player he is. He seems to be very close to being ready to go.”

Another standout for Wilson was prospect Colt Emerson, who went 2 for 3, driving in two runs on a bases-loaded single in the fifth inning.

Colt comes up clutch 👊 pic.twitter.com/JGFm4ThIw3

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) February 24, 2026

“You can’t say enough about his at-bats,” Wilson said. “Not trying to do too much in those situations. Just really quality at-bats. Not looking to drive the ball out of the park but instead looking at pitches, seeing pitches, then getting a pitch he can handle and doing something with it. We talk about his maturity, that’s some pretty good maturity in those situations. He’s getting a chance to play and showing us what he can do.”

The Mariners will take on the Royals in Surprise on Wednesday, with Bryan Woo to make his first spring start. Live radio coverage will begin on the Seattle Sports app at noon.

More from Seattle Mariners spring training

• Mariners’ Cal Raleigh addresses the ‘elephant in the room’
• Mariners’ top two pitching prospects impressing beyond strikeouts
• Mariners have same ‘secret sauce’ as Super Bowl champ Seahawks
• Drayer: Three things standing out early at Mariners camp
• ‘Challenging’ year led Seattle Mariners’ Raley to new offseason focus

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