Did Mariners pay the right price for Donovan? Morosi weighs in
Considering how quickly the Seattle Mariners were able to re-sign first baseman Josh Naylor at the beginning of the offseason, the wait to acquire Brendan Donovan felt like an eternity.
But the deal finally happened on Monday, months after it was first reported the M’s had interest in the All-Star utilityman from the St. Louis Cardinals.
Salk: By adding Donovan, Mariners did ‘what contending teams do’
Donovan was sent to the Mariners as a part of a three-team trade that also involved the Tampa Bay Rays. Seattle received Donovan from the Cardinals. St. Louis received pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje, outfield prospect Tai Peete and a Competitive Balance B pick (currently No. 68 overall) from the M’s, as well as outfield prospect Colton Ledbetter and a Competitive Balance B pick from Tampa Bay. And the Rays acquired third baseman Ben Williamson from the Mariners.
Did the M’s give up the right amount for the new bat? And are they a better team now than they were at the end of last season?
MLB Network insider Jon Morosi answered those questions Monday during his weekly conversation with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob.
Was the price right?
The Mariners didn’t have to part with any major pieces from their 2026 big league roster to get Donovan, but they did have to dip into their talent-stocked farm system and send away a top-70 draft pick.
The 22-year-old Cijtnje, a switch-pitcher, was Seattle’s first-round pick in 2024. He was the club’s seventh-ranked prospect and No. 91 in all of baseball at the time of the deal, per MLB Pipeline.
Peete, 20, was a first-round pick in 2023 and had been a top-10 prospect within the organization before sliding a bit in rankings last year.
“To give up Cijntje and Peete, they’re two good prospects, they really are,” Morosi said. “You might even be a little more uncomfortable giving up Cijntje in the in light of the Logan Evans surgery and (him) being out for all of ‘26.”
Williamson, 25, was a second-round pick in 2023 and made his big league debut early last season. The defensive standout played 85 games in the majors as Seattle’s primary third baseman until Eugenio Suárez was acquired before the trade deadline.
“The Mariners believe they can win the World Series in 2026, and I think you had to ask yourself honestly if you’re the Seattle Mariners, is Williamson good enough to be at third base when the last out of the season is made and you’re celebrating right behind the pitcher’s mound?” Morosi said. “And if he’s not good enough to play that position for seven months all the way through October, then you have to upgrade.
“I think there probably was just not enough space on this roster for a luxury defender if you have the chance to get the offensive upgrade that Donovan is.”
In the end, what the Mariners gave up is “within the range” of what Morosi expected they would have to in order to get Donovan.
“If you’re not gonna be a team that just overwhelms with free-agent dollars and offers, which the Mariners really have not been with the exception of Naylor in recent years, this is the kind of trade that you have to make, and this is the reward for having a good farm system,” Morosi said. “Prospects exist for a couple reasons. One is to have them play for you and one is to have them (to) trade to be able to bring in the stars that you need. And I know that there are some probably prospect-focused fans who don’t love it, but when you’re going for it, this is the kind of trade that you make.”
Are M’s better now than in October?
The move for Donovan seems likely to be the last major addition the Mariners make before spring training.
After losing Suárez and Jorge Polanco in free agency, they’ve essentially replaced those two bats with Donovan and veteran Rob Refsnyder. Their other notable move was trading for left-handed reliever Jose A. Ferrer, who takes the place of 2025 trade deadline add Caleb Ferguson (another free agent departure) as the club’s second southpaw in the bullpen.
Morosi wasn’t ready to say the Donovan trade makes the M’s better heading into 2026 than they were when their 2025 season ended in the American League Championship Series, but he thinks it’s “really close.”
“I would say it’s a little more adaptable,” he said. “Last year’s team was magic, though, and that’s why I hesitate to say that it’s better or that it’s going to be better, because last year they were one decent outing away from the World Series. That was a really great team that won some really tough games against excellent teams in the playoffs. I just think they’re more adaptable (and) probably, on paper, more talented, more purely talented (heading into 2026).
“… But what remains to be seen for me is, do they have that same spark about them and the chemistry that made them such a strong team (last year)?”
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