The Mariners made their big bet on Brendan Donovan with the idea that certainty was worth the price. Months later, that deal looks a lot messier.
Seattle sent Jurrangelo Cijntje and Tai Peete to the Cardinals for Donovan, then got the Rays involved by moving Ben Williamson as part of the three-team trade. The logic was simple enough at the time: prospects are volatile, Donovan was supposed to steady the major-league lineup, and the Mariners were willing to pay for that floor.
But Donovan has barely been on the field. He’s spent most of the season trying to get healthy, has already landed on the injured list twice with left groin trouble, and his latest strain came soon after he returned from the first one.
His absence has swallowed most of his first season in Seattle, and while he recently progressed to high-intensity running and was preparing for game action in the Arizona Complex League, he still hasn’t made it back to the actual lineup. His contract is up after the 2027 season.
Meanwhile, the players Seattle gave up keep popping back into the picture.
Cijntje, the No. 15 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, was promoted to Triple-A Memphis after the All-Star break following 17 starts at Double-A Springfield. His numbers there weren’t clean - a 5.04 ERA and 1.36 WHIP over 80 1/3 innings - but the strikeout total jumps off the page: 100 punchouts.
He followed a nine-strikeout, six-inning shutout on July 4 with another strong outing, striking out eight over six innings while allowing two runs. That gave him 17 strikeouts across his final 12 Double-A innings before the move up.
He’s still just 23, still ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the Cardinals’ system, and still missing bats. The command is part of the conversation, and Triple-A doesn’t guarantee anything, but St.
Louis clearly saw enough to push him to the next level. And while the switch-pitching profile makes him one of the most unusual arms in baseball, he’s primarily throwing right-handed right now as he continues to develop.
The left side is still part of the plan, but it isn’t the main attraction.
Peete, Seattle’s first-round pick in 2023, also gave St. Louis a reason to be interested.
Before a concussion interrupted his season, he was hitting .272/.350/.528 with five homers, 11 doubles, three triples and five steals in 28 games for High-A Peoria. He even hit for the cycle in April.
He started a rehab assignment in the Florida Complex League in late June and was briefly activated before going back on the injured list.
And then there’s Williamson, the final piece Seattle moved in the Donovan deal. He went to the Rays in the trade and then turned around and delivered the best game of his career against the Mariners, going 4-for-4 with an RBI double, a run scored and a stolen base in Tampa Bay’s 6-1 win on July 11. He doubled in the second inning to start the scoring and spent the rest of the afternoon piling onto Seattle’s discomfort.
That’s the part that stings for the Mariners: they gave up Cijntje, Peete, Williamson and the No. 68 pick for Donovan. Cijntje is already one level from the majors.
Peete showed real power and speed before the concussion. Williamson just put together a career day against his old team.
And Donovan, the player Seattle paid to stabilize everything, has played only 25 games with the season already past the halfway point.
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Donovans absence has been felt in a lineup that has struggled to find enough offense, and Seattle has been waiting for some kind of jolt from a player acquired in February. Since arriving, he has been limited to 25 games, so even a rehab assignment carries added weight as the Mariners try to get him back into the mix and see how quickly he can move toward a return. [Read more 🡒]
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Bryan Woo is the obvious name in that conversation, but he is hardly the only one. Seattle also has top prospects like Ryan Anderson pushing toward the majors, and the organization has to decide how aggressive it wants to be before those pitchers get expensive through the arbitration process. The Mariners have already made their comfort with extensions clear in other parts of the roster, but the pitching side is where the next big test may come, and the Burns deal only sharpens the clock. [Read more 🡒]