Brendan Donovan shows best signs yet during rehab

Seattle Mariners utility man Brendan Donovan returned to Triple-A Tacoma as a part of his rehab assignment on Tuesday and turned in his most encouraging performance since getting back into game action.

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After struggling at the plate for much of his rehab stint, Donovan slugged his first home run and picked up his first multi-hit game in Tacoma’s 8-4 win over the Sacramento River Cats at Cheney Stadium.

Donovan’s home run came in the bottom of the sixth inning off right-hander Spencer Bivens, a 379-foot solo shot to right field that came off the bat at 101.5 mph. He also singled to center field and came around to score on a Michael Arroyo double during Tacoma’s five-run third inning. He finished the day 2 for 5 at the plate.

BRENDAN DONOVAN SOLO BLAST 💥 pic.twitter.com/B1q72LxyQT

— Tacoma Rainiers (@RainiersLand) July 28, 2026

Donovan rejoined Tacoma ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against Sacramento. He had spent the prior week with High-A Everett while the Rainiers were on the road. He also broke out of a six-game hitless streak on Saturday with a seventh-inning single, the first hit of his rehab assignment. Donovan added another single Sunday and now has hits in three straight games after Tuesday’s performance in Tacoma.

In total, Donovan is 4 for 36 at the plate (.111 average) in nine games since beginning his rehab assignment July 15 in the Arizona Complex League. He’d been out of action since May 16 with a left groin muscle strain, his second stint on the IL with the injury this year.

Donovan appears to be nearing his return, which seems like it could come as soon as Friday when the Mariners begin a nine-game home stand with a series against the Minnesota Twins. He hit another important milestone last week when he played three straight games with Everett from Friday through Sunday, which included manning right field Friday and Sunday while getting a DH day in between.

The Seattle Times’ Adam Jude reported Sunday Donovan was scheduled to meet with the club’s medical staff in Seattle on Monday for a physical evaluation and there was a chance he could be activated Tuesday when the Mariners begin a three-game series with the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Instead, Donovan remained on rehab and rejoined Tacoma.

One factor that could complicate Donovan’s return is he and his wife are expecting the birth of a child any day, per Jude.

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