{"id":551129,"date":"2026-02-02T22:36:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T22:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/551129\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T22:36:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T22:36:17","slug":"cardinals-trade-brendan-donovan-to-mariners-as-part-of-3-team-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/551129\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardinals Trade Brendan Donovan to Mariners As Part of 3-Team Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2223590860.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"brendan donovan\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>St. Louis Cardinals utility player Brendan Donovan.<\/p>\n<p>The <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"St. Louis Cardinals\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/st-louis-cardinals\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"158217\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">St. Louis Cardinals<\/a> have made their next big trade as part of a huge fire sale this offseason. According to<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/jeffpassan\/status\/2018436206430752919?s=61\" rel=\"nofollow\"> ESPN\u2019s Jeff Passan, the Cardinal<\/a>s 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.<\/p>\n<p>St. Louis has already traded away <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Nolan Arenado\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/nolan-arenado\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"158223\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nolan Arenado<\/a>, <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Sonny Gray\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/sonny-gray\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"158237\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sonny Gray<\/a>, and <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Willson Contreras\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/willson-contreras\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"158240\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Willson Contreras<\/a>. A completely new era of <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Cardinals\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/st-louis-cardinals\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"158226\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cardinals<\/a> baseball under new executive Chaim Bloom. The Mariners also land the infield bat that they are looking for in this huge offseason trade.<\/p>\n<p>More <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"MLB\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"158218\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MLB<\/a> on Heavy: <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/new-york-mets\/mets-join-3-other-teams-linked-ty-france-mariners-blue-jays\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mets Join 3 Other MLB Teams Linked to Former Mariners All-Star Infielder<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Cardinals Send Brendan Donovan to Mariners<\/p>\n<p>Just a day after the Seattle Mariners lost <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/cincinnati-reds\/eugenio-suarez-signs-15-million-deal-with-cincinnati-reds-in-reunion-deal\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Eugenio Su\u00e1rez to MLB<\/a> free agency, GM Jerry DiPoto landed the impact bat the Mariners have been searching for. Seattle also lost <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Jorge Polanco\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/jorge-polanco\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"158224\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jorge Polanco<\/a> to the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Mets\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/new-york-mets\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"158220\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mets<\/a> earlier this offseason.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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 <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Cardinals\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/st-louis-cardinals\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"158238\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cardinals<\/a> rookie in their franchise history to win a Gold Glove.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5742402\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-5742402\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770071777_288_GettyImages-2223590860.jpg\" alt=\"brendan donovan\" width=\"782\" height=\"440\"  \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5742402\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GettySt. Louis <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Cardinals\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/st-louis-cardinals\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"158242\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cardinals<\/a> utility player Brendan Donovan.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Donovan was rumored to be traded back in July, but ultimately got moved in the offseason.<\/p>\n<p>More MLB on Heavy: <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/los-angeles-dodgers\/dodgers-sign-former-orioles-athletics-starter-cole-irvin\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dodgers Sign Former Orioles, <\/a><a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Athletics\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/oakland-athletics\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"158219\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Athletics<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/los-angeles-dodgers\/dodgers-sign-former-orioles-athletics-starter-cole-irvin\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Starter to Minor League Contract<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Other Details of Massive MLB Offseason Trade<\/p>\n<p>The St. Louis <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/st-louis-cardinals\/\" title=\"Cardinals\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"158256\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cardinals<\/a> 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\u2019s best farm systems and surrounding young talent around JJ Wetherholt.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Cardinals\u2019 official depth chart, some of the team\u2019s best position players now include <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/alec-burleson\/\" title=\"Alec Burleson\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"158255\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Alec Burleson<\/a>, <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Nolan Gorman\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/nolan-gorman\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"158241\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nolan Gorman<\/a>, Lars Nootbar, and <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Masyn Winn\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/masyn-winn\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"158236\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Masyn Winn<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/new-york-mets\/juan-soto-news-emerges-amid-world-baseball-classic-decision\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More MLB on Heavy: <\/a><a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" title=\"Juan Soto\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/mlb\/player\/juan-soto\/\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"158225\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Juan Soto<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/new-york-mets\/juan-soto-news-emerges-amid-world-baseball-classic-decision\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> News Emerges Amid World Baseball Classic Decision<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Cardinals\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty St. Louis Cardinals utility player Brendan Donovan. The St. Louis Cardinals have made their next big trade&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544513,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2403],"tags":[5,160,4,673,67,4311,4310],"class_list":{"0":"post-551129","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-louis-cardinals","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-cardinals","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-st-louis","12":"tag-st-louis-cardinals","13":"tag-stlouis","14":"tag-stlouiscardinals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116003432655698521","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}