The Mariners keep talking like help is on the way, but Brendan Donovan’s path back just took another turn that should make Seattle think twice about banking on him for the stretch run.
Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported that Donovan is headed to the Mariners’ complex in Arizona after there had been hope he might begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with an affiliate. Dan Wilson didn’t shut the door on a return, but he didn’t exactly sound like a manager with a firm timetable either.
“I think the hope is he’ll be getting into games here shortly,” Wilson said.
That’s a softer update than the one Mariners fans were probably hoping for, and it fits a larger pattern: the timeline keeps slipping. What looked like a step toward a rehab assignment now feels like another pause, another wait, another sign that the club still doesn’t have a clean read on when Donovan will actually be ready.
For now, Seattle should operate as if Donovan won’t be a real factor the rest of the season. If he does come back and contribute, great.
That’s a bonus. But it would be a mistake to build the trade deadline plan around the idea that he’s going to return and steady the lineup.
The reason this matters is simple: the Mariners gave up real value to get him. That makes the obvious question unavoidable. Did Seattle get damaged goods?
It’s a blunt way to put it, but the question is fair. When a team pays a meaningful prospect price and then spends months waiting for the player to become available, fans are going to wonder what exactly was acquired. Donovan was supposed to solve a problem, not become one the Mariners have to explain away.
The groin strain isn’t the issue by itself. Injuries happen, and they happen in messy ways.
What stands out is the constant pushing back of the return plan. A rehab assignment seemed like the next logical step.
Instead, Donovan is going to Arizona. Call it a checkpoint if you want, but it’s a detour.
And it may also help explain why Seattle didn’t keep waiting on the Colt Emerson call. That move had been coming eventually, especially after the contract extension.
Some even wondered whether Donovan’s injury situation sped things up. Either way, Donovan and Emerson still have never played a game together.
Emerson was called up when Donovan hit the IL on May 17, and that timing doesn’t look accidental.
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