Who Won Brendan Donovan Trade? Cardinals–Mariners Deal Revisited

Did the St. Louis Cardinals get it right with the Brendan Donovan trade?

Apr 6, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Mariners third baseman Brendan Donovan (33) looks for the ball during the game between the Rangers and the Mariners at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The St. Louis Cardinals have a well-deserved day off on Thursday and will take the field next on Friday against the floundering Houston Astros with an impressive 10-8 record.

There are few who can make the claim that they saw this coming. St. Louis traded Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras an Sonny Gray away and yet they have been above-average. Alec Burleson has replaced Contreras at first base. JJ Wetherholt is the Cardinals' starting second baseman now. Nolan Gorman has replaced Arenado over at third base. And the rotation has replaced Gray with Dustin May coming to town, Kyle Leahy going into the rotation and guys stepping up, especially Michael McGreevy.

The Astros are a team that you'd think would be around 10-8, like St. Louis. That isn't the case, though. The Astros are 8-11 on the season. So, despite all of the moves, the Cardinals are doing just fine, to say the least. Now that we are a few weeks into the season, it's a good time to look back at the deals. Let's start with the deal that sent Donovan to the Seattle Mariners.

The Cardinals acquired right-handed pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje, outfield prospect Tai Peete, outfield prospect Colton Ledbetter and two Competitive Balance Round B picks. The Mariners got Donovan. The Tampa Bay Rays got infield prospect Ben Williamson.

St. Louis Cardinals' Haul

Feb 16, 2026; Jupiter, FL, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje (87) throws a pitch during spring training workouts at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

This deal was the gem of the offseason for St. Louis. Cijntje is the Cardinals' No. 5 prospect and Peete is the team's No. 18 prospect. Ledbetter isn't one of the Cardinals' top-30 prospects. The two draft picks haven't been used yet, but will be this summer. They were the X-factors in the deal. Cijntje has star potential, but prospects are lottery tickets. St. Louis got three good prospects and will have two more coming soon.

Cijntje has made three appearances for Double-A Springfield and has a 6.75 ERA. Peete is slashing .194/.326/.444 with two homers and eight RBIs in nine games played with High-A Peoria. Ledbetter has played 13 games with Triple-A Memphis and is slashing .180/.236/.300.

Seattle Mariners' Haul

Apr 13, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners third baseman Brendan Donovan (33) throws to first base for a ground out against the Houston Astros during the first inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images

Donovan is having an excellent season. He has played in 16 games for the Mariners and is slashing .294/.431/.529 with a .960 OPS. He also has three homers, eight RBIs, one stolen base, eight walks, three doubles and six runs scored. Unsurprisingly, he's playing good defense too. Donovan was an All-Star in 2025 in St. Louis and looks like he's on pace to be an All-Star once again.

Tampa Bay Rays' Haul

Apr 11, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Ben Williamson (15) throws to first against the New York Yankees in the sixth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The forgotten team in the deal. The Rays got infielder Ben Williamson and he has played in 16 games for the Rays in the majors so far and is slashing .265/.333/.347 with six RBIs and four doubles.

Who Is Winning The Deal?

Apr 8, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Mariners second baseman Brendan Donovan (33) throws to first base during the fifth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

If Cijntje turns into a front-of-the-rotation starter and another prospect or two become legit big leaguers, this will be a solid deal in the long run, but right now it's favoring Seattle. Again, this is an All-Star we're talking about in Donovan. He's playing at that level in the majors. In the long run, things could work out for St. Louis. This deal wasn't made for the short term.