ST. LOUIS -- Fearing that Brendan Donovan’s cost-controlled prime years could expire before their rebuild puts them in position to contend again, the Cardinals dealt the All-Star infielder-outfielder to the Mariners for three Minor League prospects and two Competitive Balance Round Draft picks in a three-team trade Monday that also involved the Rays, sources told MLB.com.
The trade has yet to be officially announced by the teams involved, and it is contingent on the players passing physicals.
In return for the 29-year-old Donovan, the Cardinals received 22-year-old right-handed pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje (the Mariners' No. 7 prospect, per MLB Pipeline), 20-year-old free-swinging center fielder Tai Peete (Mariners' No. 11), 24-year-old outfielder Colton Ledbetter (Rays' No. 24) and the No. 68 and No. 72 picks in July’s MLB Draft.
Cijntje, who previously pitched with both arms while at Mississippi State and in the Mariners' system before vowing to focus only on throwing right-handed, is the centerpiece of the Cardinals’ haul and is ranked No. 91 by MLB Pipeline on its Top 100 Prospects list.
TRADE DETAILS
Cardinals get: RHP Jurrangelo Cijntje (SEA No. 7 prospect / MLB No. 91), OF Tai Peete (SEA No. 11), OF Colton Ledbetter (TB No. 24), Competitive Balance Round B picks (No. 68 overall, from SEA; No. 72 overall, from TB)
Mariners get: INF/OF Brendan Donovan
Rays get: 3B Ben Williamson (from SEA)
Cijntje will slot in at No. 4 on the Cardinals' Top 30 prospects list, just ahead of catcher Leonardo Bernal, per MLB Pipeline. Peete comes in at No. 15 among Cardinals prospects. Ledbetter will not be ranked.
Cijntje -- a native of Curacao whose father, Mechangelo, pitched professionally in the Netherlands -- went 5-7 with a 3.99 ERA over 26 games (23 starts) at High-A and Double-A in 2025. In 108 1/3 innings pitched, he struck out 120 batters while walking just 51. The No. 15 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft was naturally a left-hander early in his formative baseball years, but he started throwing right-handed while trying to emulate his father.
On MLB’s 20/80 talent rankings scale, Cijntje’s right-handed rating is considered to be a 55, per MLB Pipeline. His fastball has a 60 rating, while his changeup landed a 55 rating and his control is at 45.
As for Peete, he was the No. 30 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of high school in Sharpsburg, Ga. In 2025 for High-A Everett, Peete hit 19 homers, 24 doubles and four triples in 125 games. However, he slashed just .217/.288/.404 (.692 OPS) largely because he struck out 162 times.
Ledbetter was a college teammate of Cijntje’s at Mississippi State. The outfielder, who was a second-round pick in 2023 by the Rays, reached Double-A Montgomery in '25. In 123 games, he had seven homers, 24 doubles, four triples, 49 RBIs and 37 stolen bases while slashing .265/.337/.378 (.715 OPS).
Donovan was the Cardinals’ lone All-Star in 2025 and had commanded interest from several contending teams this winter as the Cards worked to deal him for the kind of difference-making prospects that will speed up their rebuilding project. Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom said in mid-January that the club felt no urgency to trade Donovan because he was still under contract for the '26 and ’27 seasons.
However, waiting to deal Donovan at the MLB Trade Deadline or in the winter of 2027 could have dramatically hurt the Cardinals’ bargaining power and the quality of prospects they could get in return. Bloom has said that outside interest was especially high on Donovan in December, but those talks were shelved while the team worked to trade veteran catcher/infielder Willson Contreras to the Red Sox.
Seattle, which made it to the ALCS before losing to Toronto in October, acted quickly after third baseman Eugenio Suárez agreed to a one-year, $15 million free-agent deal with the Reds over the weekend. The Mariners could hit the pesky Donovan -- one of MLB’s most difficult hitters to strike out in 2025 -- in the leadoff spot ahead of superstars Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh and sluggers Josh Naylor and Randy Arozarena. Donovan established or tied career highs with a .287 batting average and a .422 slugging mark, and he tied an MLB record with four doubles in a game on Sept. 23 as part of his 32 overall on the season.
In the beginning stages of their first major overhaul in more than three decades, the Cardinals have traded high-salaried veterans Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray and Contreras this offseason. Donovan doesn’t necessarily fall into the same category, still in the midst of his prime and set to make $5.8 million in 2026 after agreeing to a deal with the Cards that allowed him to avoid a salary arbitration hearing for a second straight year.
The Cardinals have just three players on their 40-man roster older than 30 years old -- relievers Ryne Stanek, Riley O’Brien and Nick Raquet. Donovan, who turned 29 years old on Jan. 16, had been the club’s oldest remaining position player, but that distinction falls to reserve catcher Yohel Pozo (28). Also, with the trading of Donovan, the Cardinals do not have a player with an All-Star nod on the club for the first time in decades.