Grading the Brendan Donovan Trade

Brendan Donovan, recently traded to the Seattle Mariners (MLB.com)

This trade is emblematic of the direction of the Cardinals and the Mariners; Bloom is selling the Cards MLB roster for parts, while Dipoto is trying to find ways to improve the Mariners roster for another postseason run via the trade market due to well known financial constraints. Seattle has the best farm system in the American League, and leveraged it to acquire multiple things they needed: a third baseman and a leadoff hitter. Ollie Marmol might have a worse big league roster than he did yesterday, but the org improved overall by adding multiple quality prospects and two Comp B picks. The Cards tear down to rebuild, while the Mariners look for a path to the World Series before their window inevitably closes. Oh, and of course, you have the Rays, who spend no money, make a ton of obscure trades, and find ways to compete on the margins as the edge lords of the AL East.

Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa traded Colton Ledbetter, their 2023 2nd round draft pick out of Mississippi State, to the Cards in addition to their 2026 Comp B pick (72nd overall) to the St. Louis Cardinals, while acquiring 3B Ben Williamson from Seattle. As I mentioned on the PC podcast, Ledbetter has plus raw power, and managed to steal 37 bags in AA this past season. At 24 years old though, he’s struggled to show the contact skills necessary for the highest level and has yet to play in AAA ball. He’s the athletic, toolsy fourth outfielder type that the Rays seem to have an endless supply of. Williamson was a rookie in Seattle last season, flashing Gold Glove level defense at the hot corner albeit paired with a .253/.294/.310 slash line at the plate.  Williamson, funnily enough, was the Mariners’ 2nd round pick in 2023, only two picks after Ledbetter. Ben is a legit MLB glove; the question is whether or not he can hit enough to stick around in the Majors. He has little to no pop, so he’ll probably have to find his way into an infield utility role long term. Still, he immediately provides value for Tampa defensively and has upside for more if the Rays can develop his power stroke a bit. Ledbetter isn’t much of a loss, but the Comp B picks are quite an ask for a glove-first 3B with little offensive potential. 

Grade: C+

Colton Ledbetter Cards 2026 Scouting Grades (Fangraphs)

St. Louis Cardinals

We’ll start with the Cards acquiring Ledbetter – his ability to play CF gives him a decent shot of cracking the bigs at some point in 2026. If he can handle MLB at-bats, he could even challenge guys like Jordan Walker and Victor Scott II for playing time. The Comp B pick from Tampa gives St. Louis another shot to add to their farm system, another player for their org to develop. As far as the return from Seattle, the headliner prospect in this deal is no doubt switch pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje. Bloom and the Cards front office have been interested in Cijntje all winter, and presumably he was the best prospect offered in return for two years of Brendan Donovan. Cijntje seems quite likely to start throwing from the right side full time, where he’s currently considered to have the potential of a #3 starter. He put together a nice pro debut in 2025 after being drafted out of Mississippi State (yes teammates with Ledbetter), with a 3.99 ERA over 108 innings of high A and AA ball. Though Jurrangelo has below-average control, his stuff is good enough for a potential debut in 2026. Given the walk issues, he could find himself in the bullpen eventually if the Cards can’t help him throw more strikes. If they are able to mitigate it, he has three plus pitches, which gives him a ceiling of All Star. For entertainment value, I’m rooting for Cijntje to continue pitching from both sides. 

Jurrangelo Cijntje’s NCAA + Pro Pitching Stats (Baseball Reference)

The Mariners also sent over Tai Peete, a toolsy lottery ticket prospect who has fallen out of the top 100 after a couple rough years. Peete has 60-grade speed, a plus glove in the outfield, and pop in his bat. The problem is, he’s now put up back-to-back seasons with K rates over 30%, and hit only .217 this past season. Even if he has the glove with 20-20 potential, it won’t matter if he can’t find a way to hit above the Mendoza line. If everything clicks, he could be Byron Buxton 2.0. Lastly, St. Louis is also getting Seattle Comp B pick for 2026 (68th overall). Two comp B picks, an athletic depth outfielder, and a cool switch pitcher considered a top 100 prospect by many is a solid return overall for two years of Donovan, a utility player with a plus bat who has been in high demand over the past year or so. 

Grade: B+

Complete Three Team Trade for Brendan Donovan (FOX MLB)

Seattle Mariners

From the perspective of the Seattle Mariner fanbase, this has been a disappointing offseason to say the least. The Mariners were a handful of outs away from the World Series, before the infamous George Springer moment. Jerry and his team did manage to extend Josh Naylor, but they have done little else. It was evident during the regular season that the offense was too homer dependent, and the starting pitching started to show warts that it hadn’t in previous seasons. The M’s are now projected to be 17th in MLB tax payroll, with a $181M+ number that is higher than any in recent memory. Still, the research shows your odds to a World Series shoot up if you’re a top 10 payroll club. That’s probably not going to happen anytime soon in Seattle, so we are largely expecting them to get their additions via the trade market. Brendan Donovan has been a target for awhile with this group and they finally pulled it off. Peete is a high upside, high risk prospect, but Jurrangelo is the real loss for Seattle here. That said, they managed to get two seasons of a 2-3 WAR player without having to give up any of their top BA 100 prospects (Sloan, Emerson, Anderson).

Brendan Donovan MLB Seasons by Season Stats (Baseball Reference)

Looking at Brendan Donovan, he just turned 29 and carries a career 119 wRC+. With a .282 batting average in a swing-and-miss league, he’s clearly bringing a plus hit tool to a team that needs more contact ability. He has a strong 9.1% BB rate with a bit of pop as well, though he hits more doubles than homers. Much of Donovan’s value lies in that he’s a decent defender at four different positions: 2B, 3B, LF and RF. It appears Seattle will start him at 3B, but they maintain the flexibility to move him if the right player becomes available or someone gets hurt. The Mariners’ MLB roster is much improved with the 2026 AL All Star at 3B, with increased flexibility for Dan Wilson as well. Donovan gives them a higher offensive floor at the top of the lineup, and adds to the Josh Naylor extension. Giving up two of your top ten prospects hurts, but it’s a reasonable price and they didn’t part with any of their top 5. 

Grade: A-