Trevor May: Mariners’ Brendan Donovan ‘has been as advertised’

When the Seattle Mariners have needed offense early this season, third baseman Brendan Donovan has been among those to answer the call the most.

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Through the Mariners’ first 18 games, Donovan leads the team with a .952 OPS and 180 wRC+. He also shares the team lead with three homers and is second with six extra-base hits.

The start Donovan has gotten off to in Seattle has made him the most impressive player on the team so far to former MLB pitcher and co-host of the Rates & Barrells podcast Trevor May.

“I was super excited for Brendan Donovan to come over. He has been as advertised,” May told Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Wednesday. “I really think when it’s all said and done this year, you might have to dig a little bit to find where all the value is he’s provided, like getting on base in front of those guys when they get hot and then suddenly he’s scoring all these runs. Things that aren’t going to apparently show up in front of you, that’s what’s going to be so awesome, we’re going to keep finding out about his game.

“But right here at the beginning, he has been the offense that they’ve needed, too, to win the games that they have won. So him coming out strong right out the gate on a new team in a place that’s not necessarily the easiest place to hit all the time, especially early in the year, it’s been impressive.”

One of the reasons May was high on the addition of Donovan was the stability he brings to the lineup. With stars Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh having tendencies to be streaky, May said Donovan helps strike a balance.

“He feels inevitable,” May said. “He just does the same thing every day. He’s always been a rock-solid player. He’s been that way the entire time. You’ve never seen him dip in any big, meaningful way.”

During his time in the big leagues, May, a product of Kelso High School, was vocal about his struggles with anxiety and the mental-health aspect of the game that generally hadn’t been talked about much in the past. So the consistency Donovan has shown out of the gates with a new team that has high expectations has stood out to him.

“It’s not easy to do when you’re traded for and you’re on a team that is competing and that has high expectations, and then suddenly you have high expectations,” May said. “It’s not easy to stay even keel in that way, and he’s been really impressive in that way.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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