Brendan Donovan's big flaw could complicate Mariners' Colt Emerson plan

Brendan Donovan has been great at the plate so far. In his first 30 plate appearances with the Mariners, he has posted a 288 OPS+ with two home runs and four RBI. His 1.283 OPS leads all qualified Mariners by a comfortable margin, and he has been as advertised hitting out of the leadoff spot.

Unfortunately, even the best players have their flaws and for Donovan, his lackluster defense at third base is posing some uncomfortable roster questions for Seattle.

If Colt Emerson is called up to play third base, where does Brendan Donovan fit in the lineup?

So far, Donovan's defense at the hot corner has been his biggest weakness. He has both -2 Defensive Runs Saved and -2 Outs Above Average, currently making him one of the worst fielders at his position. To his credit, it's not technically where he's supposed to be.

Because of the Mariners' excess of middle infielders, Donovan was moved from his more usual position of second base to the hot corner, a move that would understandably come with some early struggles. Although Seattle has played just seven games, he has already played more innings of third base than in any other year except his rookie campaign in 2022. He was actually quite good back then, accumulating seven DRS, but it hasn't taken long for the rust to show.

Now that the team has recently signed their phenom prospect Colt Emerson to a long-term extension, they're more incentivized to utilize his skillset at the big league level. If he is called up, he won't be replacing J.P. Crawford at shortstop, but instead will take over third.

Normally, it's a move that makes sense, but it leaves Donovan in positional limbo. He's probably the best candidate to serve as a utility player, especially since he won a Gold Glove award for the role in 2022, but he's no Dylan Moore. He has already proven that his production as a leadoff hitter is too valuable to pass up, especially given the state of the team's offensive output, but it's difficult to find consistent playing time for someone without a defined position.

Luckily, the financial structure of Emerson's new deal is set up so he'll only be paid a total of $3 million over the next two years. This syncs up perfectly with Donovan's free agency which will come in 2028. The Mariners will likely call up their top prospect before then but even if they don't, they won't be leaving too much money in the minors.

Although it's not an ideal scenario, it's an improvement over the team's past issues. In previous years, Seattle was forced to choose between a handful of lukewarm options for third base. Now, they're blessed with two highly capable players. The season is still young, so the Mariners have plenty of time to decide what their ideal roster alignment will be, but they'll have come to a resolution before their top prospect makes his long-awaited debut.