Cardinals near 3-team trade to send Donovan to Mariners (source)
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The Mariners are on the verge of acquiring an impact infielder, closing in on a three-team trade that would net them Brendan Donovan from the Cardinals, a source told MLB.com's Daniel Kramer on Monday. The clubs have not confirmed the trade, which also includes the Rays, according to the source.
The full trade details were not immediately known, but Seattle is trading away three players, per Kramer: pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje (the Mariners' No. 7 prospect) and outfielder Tai Peete (No. 11) to St. Louis and infielder Ben Williamson to the Tampa Bay.
Cijntje was the Mariners' first-round Draft pick in 2024, when he was taken 15th overall as an ambidextrous switch-pitcher out of Mississippi State, though Seattle just announced on Friday that the club was going to focus on the 22-year-old as a right-hander for the near future.
Peete was the 30th overall pick in the 2023 Draft, and he's put up a .724 OPS in 264 Minor League games, topping out at High-A last season.
Donovan became the first rookie in the rich history of the Cardinals to win a Gold Glove in 2022, and he was a finalist for that same award in 2024, but the best season of his four-year MLB career didn’t come until 2025.
Donovan, 29, made his first NL All-Star team in 2025 and established or tied career highs with a .287 batting average, .422 slugging mark and 32 doubles. Donovan also tied an MLB record on Sept. 23 when he had four doubles in a 9-8 road win in San Francisco.
Donovan’s body has started to betray him in recent years with several injuries keeping him out of the lineup. He played just 95 games in 2023 after needing reconstructive brace surgery on a ligament in his right elbow. He rebounded to play 153 games in 2024, but that total dropped to 118 in 2025 because of a hernia that hampered his second half and required offseason surgery.
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A solid defender, Donovan’s versatility in the field is also an asset to any team. In his four MLB seasons, he’s played 30 games at first, 225 at second, 46 at third, 14 at shortstop, 163 in left field and 30 in right field. Following his elbow surgery in 2023, the Cardinals used him primarily at second base and left field to protect his throwing arm.
Donovan avoided arbitration last month by agreeing to a deal for 2026 worth $5.8 million, according to a source, and he will remain under club control for the next two seasons.