Brendan Donovan's post-injury uncertainty is a blessing in disguise for Mariners

The easiest injury return on the Seattle Mariners’ calendar belongs to Cal Raleigh. Whenever Raleigh is healthy enough to come back, he catches. Sure, that’s not a shocker. It may not even need to be said. But that’s the point. Brendan Donovan is different.

That return is going to be a lot messier. And weirdly enough, that could be a good thing. Donovan is still working his way back from a left groin strain, with Seattle being careful about his running progression and expecting both Donovan and Raleigh to need rehab assignments before returning. 

The same update from MLB.com also made the roster wrinkle pretty clear: Colt Emerson has taken over as the everyday third baseman and is expected to stay there. Which isn’t a huge deal because Donovan wasn’t acquired to be a one-position player anyway. The Mariners knew this was eventually coming. In St. Louis, he started all over the diamond, including 162 games in the outfield over four seasons.

Seattle has spent a lot of recent seasons leaning on its best players like there’s no tomorrow. Julio Rodríguez plays constantly. Cal Raleigh plays constantly. Randy Arozarena has been used like a permanent fixture. Cole Young and Josh Naylor are everyday guys as well.

At some point, being durable stops being the same thing as being protected. That’s where Donovan’s uncertainty becomes a blessing in disguise for the Mariners.

Brendan Donovan can help the Mariners solve their everyday-player problem

The Mariners don’t have to force Donovan back into one clean role. And it would probably be in their best interest to not even try to find a clear position for him.

Donovan can play second, third, left field, right field, and even be a legitimate option at first base. With the exception of center field and catcher, he can touch almost every part of the roster where the Mariners can give guys a breather.

And the best part is that Donovan is not a glove-only utility player who makes the bottom third of the lineup look like a rain delay. When healthy, he gets on base. He gives the Mariners adult at-bats. In a 25-game sample this season, he’s slashing .274/.386/.452 with three home runs, eight RBI, 0.7 WAR and a 142 OPS+.

So, yes, he is going to stay busy. He’s basically the more expensive, much cleaner version of the utility profile this organization has always loved. Think Dylan Moore or Sam Haggerty, except with a bat that can actually live at the top of the lineup.

We know how this goes with Seattle. When the offense is humming, everything looks fine. When it stalls, suddenly the Mariners are asking the pitching staff to be perfect.

Donovan gives them another way to function. It’s not the most glamorous. But it is winning baseball. So, the temptation will be to treat Donovan’s return like a question without a clear answer. Where does he play? Who sits? What happens to the lineup? But the better answer might be: everyone sits a little.

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