Mariners Remain Connected To Cardinals All-Star, Per Insider

The Mariners are still in the mix.

Sep 11, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; A detailed view of the 9/11 ribbon on a St. Louis Cardinals hat in the dugout before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The Seattle Mariners remain relatively quiet this offseason. They traded for Jose Ferrer and re-signed Josh Naylor, but haven't done much of anything else this offseason.

They still are looking for ways to upgrade their offense for 2026. As currently constructed, they don’t look like a team that is ready to make it back to the ALCS for a second straight year.

Still, they have good players on their roster and want to make upgrades for this season. They have been connected to Brendan Donovan all offseason long, and Ken Rosenthal notes that they’re still in the mix.

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Will Donovan Be Moved?

Sep 23, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) runs to third base against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Eakin Howard-Imagn Images | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

“Donovan also is under club control for only two more seasons, the second of which is threatened by a lockout. The Kansas City Royals remain among the teams interested, but if the Cardinals prefer premium young bats, the Seattle Mariners are perhaps the best fit,” Rosenthal reported.

The Mariners have a lot of young pitching in their system, including No. 7 prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje, a switch-pitcher. However, Rosenthal does note that not all teams see Donovan the same way that St. Louis does.

St. Louis sees a superstar, and some other teams may not agree on such. That may be what is holding up trade talks. 

The Cardinals want a massive return for Donovan, but teams, including the Mariners may be unwilling to give them that much. Seattle also has several bats in their system that could be of interest to St. Louis.

But if the Mariners want to land Donovan, they might need to sweeten up their offers since the Cardinals asking price is incredibly high. Another route they could potentially take is re-signing Eugenio Suarez and letting some of their top prospects battle it out for the second base job now that Jorge Polanco is gone.

It will be interesting to see what Seattle decides to do, but they may in fact still be the favorites for Donovan and the ones that can give St. Louis the best possible offer.

The 28-year-old second baseman hit .287 with 10 home runs and a .775 OPS during the regular season with St. Louis and was their lone All-Star. He would certainly give Seattle the offensive boost they need to make a deeper postseason run.

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