New Report on Cardinals All-Star Is Bad News for Mariners

The Mariners may have to pivot.

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 had a relatively quiet offseason thus far. Their only major move was re-signing Josh Naylor to a five-year, $92.5 million contract.

Other than that, it's been pretty quiet for Seattle. They have been connected to St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan all offseason long and have an opening for him with Jorge Polanco now gone.

However, Donovan still remains in St. Louis despite all the speculation and the Cardinals' current rebuild. Katie Woo of The Athletic shared the latest update on Donovan, and unfortunately, it doesn't look like good news for the Mariners, or any team involved in the sweepstakes.

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The Latest on Donovan

Sep 19, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) celebrate with first base coach Packy Elkins (86)after hitting a single against the Milwaukee Brewers during the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

"True to their stance all offseason, the Cardinals do not feel the need to trade Donovan, and they will only do so if they are blown away by an offer," Woo said. "That just hasn't happened yet."

The Cardinals seem to be unwilling to budge on their asking price. It also seems as though the Mariners have been unwilling to meet that asking price.

If they want Donovan, they are likely going to have to make a bigger offer to St. Louis. Now, it's looking less likely that the 2025 All-Star will be traded this offseason. And so, if the Mariners don't end up landing him in a trade, they'll have to focus elsewhere.

There are several options they can choose from. Firstly, they can trust their internal options, Cole Young, Colt Emerson and Ben Williamson. They want to give those players runway in 2026, and not adding anything else to their offense would allow them that chance.

The second option they have at their disposal is possibly re-signing Eugenio Suarez, who is still a free agent. That would fill their need at third base.

Donovan is valuable because he can play almost anywhere on the field, including second base and third base, where the Mariners' biggest holes are. That is likely why the Cardinals have such a high asking price.

But if St. Louis is unwilling to budge, that spells trouble for the Mariners as far as their pursuit for him goes. It will be interesting to see if perhaps they make a bigger offer to the Cardinals.

As of now though, Donovan staying in St. Louis seems like the most likely outcome, which is disappointing for the Mariners and all other teams interested.

More MLB: NL Central Team Predicted to Steal Eugenio Suarez from Mariners