The Seattle Mariners’ front office completed the team’s recent acquisition of star utility player Brendan Donovan in a three-team trade with the St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays under unusual circumstances.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander were both at the Washington State Capitol building as the state senate adopted a resolution honoring Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh as well as the team’s 2025 season while the deal was completed.
“Dipoto was signing autographs and posing for photographs,” Rosenthal reported Tuesday. “Hollander scrambled to leave the gallery, only to find the door was locked. Someone buzzed him into the senate offices. Hollander apologized, explaining he had to make a call. From a break room down the hall, he phoned the Mariners’ medical team in Seattle and told them to start poring over Donovan’s file.”
The Mariners received Donovan in the swap, while the Rays came away from the deal with third baseman Ben Williamson. As for the Cardinals, they acquired pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje, outfield prospects Tai Peete and Colton Ledbetter as well as two Competitive Balance Round B draft picks.
“The coolest part of the day was sitting at the state capitol while they were reading a resolution honoring the Mariners,” Dipoto said, per Rosenthal. “Which really was something I had never before experienced. Then we got the deal done, which makes our team feel more complete.”
Raleigh set a new single-season franchise record with 60 home runs during his 2025 campaign. The Mariners finished with a 90-72 record, advancing to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2001.
They’ll look to return to the postseason in 2026 following the addition of Donovan, who earned the first All-Star nod of his career last season. He hit .287 with 10 home runs, 32 doubles and 50 RBI across 118 games.