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St. Louis Cardinals utility player Brendan Donovan.
The St. Louis Cardinals have made their next big trade as part of a huge fire sale this offseason. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Cardinals are sending infielder Brendan Donovan to the Seattle Mariners in a three-team deal that also includes the Tampa Bay Rays. According to Katie Woo, the trade is pending physical. This story will be updated when the remaining details of this trade emerge.
St. Louis has already traded away Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, and Willson Contreras. A completely new era of Cardinals baseball under new executive Chaim Bloom. The Mariners also land the infield bat that they are looking for in this huge offseason trade.
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Cardinals Send Brendan Donovan to Mariners
Just a day after the Seattle Mariners lost Eugenio Suárez to MLB free agency, GM Jerry DiPoto landed the impact bat the Mariners have been searching for. Seattle also lost Jorge Polanco to the Mets earlier this offseason.
In 2025, Brendan Donovan hit .287 with 10 home runs and 50 RBI in 118 games. Also an All-Star this past season, Donovan put together a fourth straight season of an OPS+ higher than 110. He made his MLB debut in 2022.
Donovan is a really versatile player, as he finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2022, and also has a Gold Glove on his resume. He was the first Cardinals rookie in their franchise history to win a Gold Glove.
GettySt. Louis Cardinals utility player Brendan Donovan.
Now, while such a productive player when on the field, Donovan has dealt with a variety of injuries throughout his career. He avoided arbitration last month, comes with a $5.8 million salary, and will be under team control for 2027 as well before becoming a free agent.
Donovan was rumored to be traded back in July, but ultimately got moved in the offseason.
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Other Details of Massive MLB Offseason Trade
The St. Louis Cardinals have delivered a heavy dose of offseason news to this point. Bloom and the rest of the front office are adamant about building one of MLB’s best farm systems and surrounding young talent around JJ Wetherholt.
According to the Cardinals’ official depth chart, some of the team’s best position players now include Alec Burleson, Nolan Gorman, Lars Nootbar, and Masyn Winn.
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