Nobody has ever looked at a hypothetical MLB trade proposal and been 100-percent convinced at first glance. This is not a fact, but it’s a reasonable working theory that applies to a recent trade pitch designed, in part, to get Brendan Donovan from St. Louis to Seattle.
This one comes from Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com, who was open with framing his collection of trade pitches as “ridiculous.” His notion was to be big and bold, no matter how unlikely his proposals are to happen in real life. Which brings us to this one involving the Mariners, the Cardinals and the New York Mets:
Mariners get: INF/OF Brendan DonovanMets get: 3B Nolan Arenado, RHP/LHP Jurrangelo CijntjeCardinals get: RF Lazaro Montes, RHP Camden Lohman
This is definitely big. And definitely bold. And if the question is whether all three parties would get what they want, the answer is yes. We’re big fans of Donovan’s around these parts, and the Mets do need a third baseman and the Cardinals do need prospects.
‘Ridiculous’ Brendan Donovan proposal melts Mariners fans’ brains
As far as the Mariners are concerned, however, there is the subsequent question of whether Donovan is so good as to be worth their No. 3 and No. 8 prospects, as ranked by MLB Pipeline.
The knee-jerk reaction is something along the lines of, “No, and also no!” Donovan is a solid player who has been a Gold Glover and an All-Star, but he’s going to be 29 on January 16 and it’s clear that his ceiling only goes so high. He’s posted 7.1 rWAR across the last three seasons, which ties him for 92nd among all position players.
For their parts, Montes and Cijntje have star upside that could come into play for Seattle as soon as next season. Montes is something of a Yordan Alvarez clone, while Cijntje got better and better as 2025 went along. Even if his switch-pitching act might be on borrowed time, there’s top-of-the-rotation upside in his right arm alone.
And yet, what if this trade is actually… fair?
Setting aside the wonkiness of Arenado’s inclusion, it’s basically a two-for-one swap for the Mariners. And if you plug that two-for-one arrangement into Baseball Trade Values, it works out to a minor overpay rather than a trade that would be rejected outright. It could be that they’re overvaluing Donovan, but the guy is a proven big leaguer with two remaining years of club control, and he’s only projected to make $5.4 million in arbitration next year.
Donovan would also help the Mariners more than he would help other clubs who could be interested in his services. He would fit nicely into their opening at second base, and even more nicely into their leadoff spot. He has stayed closely tethered to his .361 career OBP as a major leaguer, which should appeal to Seattle after it got only a .311 OBP from the No. 1 spot this year.
So despite Castrovince’s “ridiculous” framing, this does come across as a classic “Who says no?” concept. The Mariners would have to seriously consider it if the Cardinals approached them with it.
Or, they could take the easy path forward and simply re-sign Jorge Polanco to satisfy needs at second base and designated hitter. This is purportedly the goal in the wake of the club’s reunion with Josh Naylor, and the Mariners don’t need to break their budget to make it happen.
Along with a trade for Ketel Marte, though, a trade for Donovan should be on the Mariners’ radar. He’s a guy who could help, and so much so that he might even be worth a sizable chunk of the club’s prospect depth.