Mariners Are Ruining Their Chances Of Landing Cardinals All-Star

It's time to up the ante.

Apr 21, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A St. Louis Cardinals hat and glove in the dugout against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Seattle Mariners have been quiet in recent weeks since making a trade for Jose Ferrer and re-signing Josh Naylor. They watched Jorge Polanco depart for the New York Mets and have not replaced him.

They have shown interest in St. Louis Cardinals star Brendan Donovan, but talks haven’t gone anywhere between the two teams. They’re hesitant to give up Major League ready talent to land the 2025 All-Star.

With the market having slowed down a little bit over the holidays, the Mariners may ultimately be ruining their chances to trade for Donovan and make him the replacement for Polanco.

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Mariners May Be Shooting Themselves In The Foot

Sep 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) collects a ball hit by the San Francisco Giants during the eighth inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

The Cardinals are selling high on Donovan, and won’t trade him unless they are blown away by an offer. The Mariners have intriguing minor league pieces that the Cardinals had been interested in, such as switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje.

However, that clearly hasn’t been enough for the Cardinals to pull the trigger on a deal, and it’s probably going to take a little bit more than that. The Cardinals are still on the lookout for pitching and might want a Major League ready arm. 

If Seattle isn’t willing to give that up, then chances of a deal may go down. Then, the Mariners are left with one of two outcomes. Either they watch another team like the San Francisco Giants or Boston Red Sox give the Cardinals a better offer, or the Cardinals ultimately hold onto Donovan after not receiving the offers they wanted.

Either way, the Mariners may have to up the ante on their offers for the star second baseman and part ways with some Major League ready talent to satisfy the Cardinals’ asking price.

Donovan hit .287 with 10 home runs and a .775 OPS during the regular season and was easily the Cardinals’ best player in 2025, so it would make sense for them to demand a lot in return for Donovan.

But with spring training approaching, the Mariners might want to go all out on an offer before another team does, or the Cardinals pull him off the market. 

It should be interesting to see what the Mariners decide to do. If they don’t trade for Donovan, then they’ll have to look elsewhere for an offensive upgrade.

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