Mariners are already finding out how right Cardinals were about Brendan Donovan

When the Mariners finally acquired Brendan Donovan from the Cardinals in a blockbuster trade which also involved the Rays, there was a collective sigh of relief around the building at T-Mobile Park. The M's had been after the 29-year-old for the majority of the offseason, causing plenty of angst and frustration within the organization as the situation dragged on.

The reason the trade took so long to come together was due to the Cardinals insisting Donovan was a star worthy of a high return package. Back at the start of this year, SoDo Mojo's Tremayne Person was among those who said the M's should not give in to the absurd valuation of the 2022 Gold Glove winner, no matter how much they wanted him.

Mariners discovering that Brendan Donovan IS all that

In the end, the package to seal the deal was quite substantial, but with due respect to Ben Williamson, Jurrangelo Cijntje and Tai Peete, none of them will be greatly missed. And while Donovan might not be quite the superstar he was hyped up to be, the Mariners are now finding out why the Cardinals raved so much about him.

Everything about Donovan indicates he's the kind of glue guy who can keep the Mariners together and focused during a 2026 season which has genuine World Series aspirations. While some may have been skeptical the organization was talking him up maybe too much, he's already proving himself to be the type of leader the M's want and need in their clubhouse.

We've written previously about Donovan's discipline and hard-work ethic which was instilled within him from an early age by his father, who was previously a Colonel in the U.S. Army. He's the ultimate team guy, as proven by his willing versatility around the diamond and even sticking around in the dugout during spring training after he's been removed from games, to bond further with his new teammates.

Spring training or not, Brendan Donovan proving he's a gamer

As for anyone saying this is all very well but what about his actual game, Donovan has been delivering just fine, going 10-for-21 with two walks in Cactus League play prior to Wednesday's game versus the Rockies. Oh, and that Gold Glove-level defense and effort has been on display as well, with defensive gems such as this one:

The Mariners are invested in and hyped by just how much Donovan has been doing for them in Peoria. As per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, manager Dan Wilson said: "He just plays hard. And it doesn’t matter where he’s gonna be on the field, he’s gonna give you a good effort, and that was just a straight effort play. There’s a lot of things kind of happening at the same time, and his concentration was great to get the ball, land in the net and then not fall too far into there where it allows another base for the runners."

The more you look at Donovan both on and off the field, the more it just feels like he might actually be underrated. He's a career .282 hitter with a 117 OPS+, has the potential to fix the leadoff issues which tormented the Mariners throughout last season, and he's only costing them $5.8 million in 2026 with another year of club control. (Albeit with the likelihood of a lockout looming large.)

We realize that spring training is mostly meaningless, but when you consider the struggles of other Mariners players, it's a positive to see Donvan performing so well. The guy is a gamer and is doing a tremendous job of justifying why the Cardinals were so high on him, with the M's set to benefit throughout the coming season.