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Seattle PBO Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander reportedly completed the Brendan Donovan trade in the Washington State Capitol while the Legislature honored the team:
This well-moderated forum is of higher quality than its Seattle Mariner counterpart:
https://www.marinertalk.com/viewforum.php?f=3
A clever quote from the FanGraphs analysis of the Brendan Donovan trade:
It’s a classic case where a dime and four nickels are less useful to the Mariners than a quarter.
Another Fine Addition to Their Collection: Mariners Acquire Brendan Donovan in Three-Team Swap
The Seattle Mariners selected Colt Emerson and Tai Peete as 17-year-olds eight picks apart in the first round of the 2023 draft.
One prospect developed quickly and the other did not.
Best wishes to Tai Peete in the St. Louis system.
This could be a good deal for all three teams.
The Lazaro Montes detractors on this forum should note that last season Montes struck out in 169 times in 589 plate appearances across High A and Double A while Tai Peete, who is 10 months younger than Montes, struck out 162 times in 529 plate appearances in High A (after striking out 162 times in 528 plate appearances the previous season in Low A). FanGraphs rates Peete as a 40+ prospect.
Baseball Trade Values assigns Seattle a slight overpay but may have given Peete an inflated surplus value of $14.8 million (more surplus value than the more highly regarded Cijntje). I saw Montes and Peete play multiple games last year and only Montes brought excitement to the plate.
Thank you for the engaging discussions on Brendan Donovan. Good luck in 2026 and beyond.
“Sweet” Harmony, whom hopefully calls this place his home away from home now.
PugsleyAddams and KeepComingBack, thank you for the compliments.
For the past 21 years, a Red Sox forum has been my “home away from home” although I’ve posted on forums for a vast majority of MLB teams. I am grateful for meaningful discussions and the knowledge I’ve attained about the sport I love.
Seattle’s loss of right-hander Logan Evans to Tommy John surgery contributed to the Mariners’ recent decisions to sign Dane Dunning and Cooper Criswell for starting pitching depth.
But, yes, the Mariners are at least slightly less likely to trade a starting pitcher.
At Saturday’s FanFest, Seattle PBO Jerry Dipoto reportedly said the club will acquire one more bat before or during Spring Training:
Donny, JoJo and Pages
for
Payton Tolle and Jhonstyxnox GarciaBTV has the BOS pair at 44.4 and us sending 44.8
???
The Boston Red Sox traded Jhostynxon García to the Pittsburgh Pirates on December 4:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47205963/pirates-send-johan-oviedo-red-sox-five-player-trade
How about Donovan, Jo Jo, and Crooks for Anderson?
Seattle is unlikely to trade Kade Anderson for a quantity offer.
Of course the Cardinals would not trade Brendan Donovan and Liam Doyle for Kade Anderson, but that’s what it would take.
Just for fun-What does that take? I can’t think of a trade that makes sense. We are in the business of trying to aquire high end prospects right now. So it would have to be roster players. Donovan and?
Brendan Doyle and Liam Doyle for Kade Anderson? 😉
Pierpont knows the SEA roster and depth as well as SEA does 🕵
It takes two!Interesting point although neither Kade Anderson, Ryan Sloan nor Jurrangelo Cijntje had thrown a professional pitch in November 2024 when pitching coordinator Matt Pierpont left the Seattle Mariners for the Cardinals.
Seattle reportedly is developing Jurrangelo Cijntje as a right-handed starting pitcher.
Cijntje might be a higher-ranked prospect if he had never been labeled a switch-pitcher.
Some swith-hitters abandon one side if the results demand the change. Some players are developed for one role before being moved to different role.
Cijntje was drafted only 18 months ago and probably is not a finished product despite a possible MLB debut this season.
Harmony,
Arroyo and Cijinte and you get Donnie, Jojo AND Obrien back!Deal? I backed off on Sloan, but Arroyo has to be in it.
I don’t get to make major decisions in my household much less major decisions for the Seattle front office.
Regardless, that offer would be tempting.
That might create 40-man roster issues for the Mariners.
Chaim Bloom says the Cardinals don’t need to trade Brendan Donovan.
Do some people assume the Seattle Mariners need to trade from their surplus of eight Top 100 prospects (seven at MLB.com, seven by Keith Law and five at ESPN)?
Could the Mariners simply roll with Cole Young at second base and Ben Williamson at third base with Colt Emerson, Leo Rivas amd Ryan Bliss as backups?
A wide range of outcomes is available. With or without Brendan Donovan, the Mariners could miss the playoffs or advance to the World Series. Young and Williamson could be busts. Alternatively, Young could be an All Star and Williamson a Gold Glove winner on a championship team.
The Cardinals and potential trade partners likely value Donovan differently. Likewise, the Cardinals and trade partners probably value the partners’ prospects and other assets differently. More often than not, good faith trade negotiations fail to produce a deal.
Nothing wrong with that.
Seattle pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje, mentioned in Brandon Donovan trade speculation, failed to make Keith Law’s Top 100 prospect list released Monday.
Subscription required.
Law’s Top 100 list includes seven Seattle prospects, including shortstop Felnin Celesten, who is not on MLB.com Top 100 prospect list.
There will likely would be other pieces involved, but this is a starting foundation.
Red Sox: Witherspoon or Tolle even though a bat is ideal, nothing lines up (Duran if he negotiates an extension?)
Brendan Donovan and Jarren Duran were each selected in the seventh round of the 2018 draft but what’s interesting is that Duran was drafted as a second baseman and Donovan as an outfielder:
FO and fans always seem to overvalue their prospects. I’ll give a couple examples. If Sloan were to be traded in the Donovan trade, the Cardinals are the ones taking the most risk. A pitcher in Class A is a long ways away from the majors, especially for a proven major leaguer.
The Seattle Mariners and executive Jerry Dipoto didn’t overvalue their prospects when the M’s traded away Freddy Peralta, Pablo Lopez and Zack Littell as distant pitching prospects.
Front offices and their fans tend to overvalue their team’s assets, not just prospects.
What weight should we give this report from Wednesday?
MLB Live
@MLBaseball_Live
The Seattle Mariners have told the St. Louis Cardinals they are where they are – and that’s the ceilingThe Cardinals and Giants have picked up steam – I wouldn’t rule out Cardinals going with Seattle but their attention is making sure Seattles offer is the one they should take I assume.
Red Sox, Yankees and Houston have exhausted what they have in their talks – didn’t seem to move needle.
If Houston had exactly what Cardinals wanted – he did been traded to Houston day 2 of the winter – it’s not their want – it’s just their bank account so to speak.
This is the final week of Donovan being traded – you can just feel it – if he isn’t moved this week – cardinals will probably keep him.
12:29 PM · Jan 20, 2026
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1.2M Views55,
Donovan: 3.05 fwar/583 (24-25′)Industry standard is look back as far as you are purchasing forward. All buyers. Age related decline if necessary.
Alternatively, Brendan Donovan averaged 2.65 bWAR over the 2024-25 seasons:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/donovbr01.shtml
… which gives Donovan some value.
The provided calculation suggests Seattle did well in its November 2021 trade for one year of IF/OF Adam Frazier, who was coming off a 4 bWAR (3.3 fWAR) season and his only All Star appearance. Donovan and Frazier were compared earlier on this thread:
… on Page 4.
Harmony, I love Arroyo even over Montes. I think I’ve made that way to clear! Hah
On top of Donnie, what would it take to get Arroyo and Clijente? Jesus (not Josh) Baez? Noot?
Give us a realistic package for those two when you get a second?
Seattle is in a win-now mode so the Baez prospects would be unlikely trade targets.
Some Mariner fans would be interested in Brendan Donovan and JoJo Romero or Riley O’Brien for Michael Arroyo and Jurrangelo Cijntje.
Is one year of the 29-year-old Romero worth more than five years of the nearly 31-year-old O’Brien, whom the Mariners jettisoned in November 2023?
The Mariners may be prepared to move on from Brendan Donovan.
Emerson Hancock is a good comp for Brandon Sproat.
After finishing innings shy of a World Series berth, Seattle returns Josh Naylor at first base and J.P. Crawford at shortstop.
The infield question marks are at second base and third base:
Is 20-year-old Top 10 prospect Colt Emerson ready for The Show?
Can 22-year-old former Top 50 prospect Cole Young hold down second base after mixed results in his 2025 debut?
Do Ben Williamson’s defensive contributions behind a solid pitching staff justify his slotting at third base?
Can the Mariners get a 2026 rebound from 2025 Opening Day second baseman Ryan Bliss, whose injury snapped his streak of starting 11 of the first 12 games at the keystone?
Can the Mariners count on Leo Rivas, who started the final four postseason games at second base after posting an OPS+ of 113 in 48 regular-season games?
At least in 2026, Donovan is likely a surer bet than any of these five individuals. However, the Mariners need only two of the five to step up at second base and third base.
If the Mariners acquire Donovan, these players will be needed to cover the average 24 percent of games Donovan misses each season (including 27 percent in 2025).
Good comparison, Harmony55. I would imagine that the Cardinals would want a pitcher back in the deal, as opposed to a young SS. Who would you propose as the 2nd piece in the deal if the main piece was Montes?
Seattle probably should not trade for Brendan Donovan if Lazaro Montes is involved.
If Montes is the headliner, pitchers Kade Anderson, Ryan Sloan and Jurrangelo Cijintje are clearly off the table. That leaves the pitching bucket of Teddy McGraw. Logan Evans, Emerson Hancock and Michael Morales.
Donovan might raise the floor for the Mariners but Seattle’s in-house options could have higher ceilings.
For those that are bored, Thursday morning ”Chaim takes the deal”?
One for one deal back for Donnie. OF or CI guys with a minimum of 55 projected power is my “must have”.
Copy and paste? Two options are acceptable in this.
Mariners:
For the sake of discussion only, Seattle’s equivalent of Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat might be OF/DH Lazaro Montes and SS Felnin Celesten.
MLB.com ranks the 21-year-old Montes and the 22-year-old Williams No. 29 and No. 30 on its Top 100 prospect list:
https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/top100/
FanGraphss grades Montes 40/60 for Game Power and 65/70 for Raw Power while grading Williams 40/55 for Game Power and 50/55 for Raw Power.
The 25-year-old Sproat was a Top 100 prospect a year ago but has fallen off Top 100 lists after a generally disapointing MLB debut. The 20-year-old Celesten was a Top 100 prospect a year ago but has fallen off Top 100 list after a lackluster season.
Williams and Sproat are closer to MLB than Montes and Celesten but the Cardinals might prefer the latter if the St. Louis competitive window is further out.
Chances of a Brendan Donovan trade to Seattle are probably less than 50 percent.
