This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer's Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
SEATTLE -- The Mariners didn’t return from the Winter Meetings back at square one. Yet, in the wake of Jorge Polanco agreeing to terms with the Mets on Saturday, they’re already pivoting on how to address his void.
And as the top of the free-agent pool has gained steam -- Polanco going to New York on a two-year, $40 million contract being among the latest deals -- the trade market is also expected to heat up.
Which is the avenue in which Seattle’s front office has always done its heavy lifting.
“We do want the one more bat,” Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said at the Meetings. “That part, we're probably just going to have to keep waiting for. And when the market starts to move, the market starts to move. The good thing is, I think our team is good. And we did a couple of things that I think are very high-impact, and now we just have to be patient, do the smart things.”
The Mariners have been most prominently linked to Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan, and sources told MLB.com that conversations with St. Louis have indeed been taking place at a more propelled level in recent days. The Athletic reported on Sunday that the Mariners and Giants have emerged as the front-runners to acquire the 2025 All-Star, who is the Cards’ most coveted bat this winter and could be moved under their new front-office leadership.
Seattle has also been keeping tabs on the D-backs’ Ketel Marte, who has been one of the sport’s best second basemen since he was dealt from Seattle to Arizona in a 2015-16 offseason blockbuster that brought back Mitch Haniger and Jean Segura. Marte is due $91 million over the next five years, plus an $11.5 player option for 2031.
And while the D-backs intend to contend next season, they won’t necessarily have the trade leverage with him that they do now, given that he’ll achieve 10-and-5 rights in the early weeks of the 2026 season, meaning he can veto any trade.
The Mariners’ most coveted assets are within their big league rotation, and Arizona is reportedly seeking MLB-ready starters. However, Seattle has been adamant about not trading from that group. But they do have a small army of arms within their farm system -- ranked No. 3 at midseason by MLB Pipeline -- which could headline a formidable package, such as Jurrangelo Cijntje (No. 7 in the Mariners' system, No. 90 overall), Ryan Sloan (No. 4, No. 44) and Kade Anderson (No. 2, No. 23).
Among that group, sources have said that the Mariners are most open to dealing Cijntje, the ambidextrous pitcher they selected in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft. The Athletic reported that the Cards have discussed Cijntje and slugging outfield prospect Lazaro Montes (No. 3, No. 29) with the Mariners.
There also could be more motivation for a Donovan deal now that St. Louis has agreed to terms with free-agent pitcher Dustin May, who will need to be added to its at-capacity 40-man roster once it becomes official this week.
In Seattle, Donovan would be the clearest on-paper fit of any impact infielder still available this offseason.
He doesn’t strike out much (ranking in the 92nd percentile with a 13 percent K rate), makes good contact from the left side (96th percentile in squared-up percentage) and has made more than one-third of his 421 career starts in left field, which could give the Mariners the type of versatility that they loved with Dylan Moore before moving on from the utility man in August.
Donovan could also work into the mix at designated hitter, or backfill other regulars like Randy Arozarena on days the Mariners would like to utilize that spot elsewhere.
Moreover, Donovan has two years remaining before free agency and would be far more affordable than Polanco and Marte via arbitration.
That type of shorter-term commitment is what Dipoto hinted that the Mariners are looking for -- considering that they intend to create runway for young infielders Cole Young and Ben Williamson, as well as 20-year-old Colt Emerson, their No. 1 prospect by MLB Pipeline. Switch-hitter Leo Rivas and second baseman Ryan Bliss, who was injured most of last year, will also be in the mix.
“Having the experienced bat who can go in and balance out the lineup, who might be able to play some of those positions defensively -- and I would add first base,” Dipoto said. “We don't have an obvious first-base backup for [Josh Naylor] on the roster. So finding somebody in that mix [is a priority].
“And maybe it's one player, or maybe it's two, but that's the profile we're looking for, is somebody that does the things like Polo did for us last year.”