Mariners Rumors: Seattle fans shouldn't hold their breath for trade with Cardinals

If you’ve followed a single offseason under Jerry Dipoto, you’ve probably seen the St. Louis Cardinals’ name pop up so often that it feels like they should just move to the AL West and get it over with. Logan Gilbert rumors. Lars Nootbaar daydreams. Jordan Walker mock trades. And now: Brendan Donovan watch.

It's understandable that there is so much interest in this possibility; Seattle has been looking to add a lefthander with high contact skills, can move around the infield and helps make their lineup feel like it is one player deeper than it actually is. Meanwhile, St. Louis at least appears to be willing to listen as to whether they can trade Donovan (who will earn roughly $5 million via arbitration in 2026).

But if you’re waiting for Dipoto to sneak out of Orlando with Donovan in his carry-on this week… probably don’t.

Mariners fans shouldn’t bank on long-rumored Brendan Donovan deal

Ryan Divish and Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reported from Day 2 of the Winter Meetings that while the Mariners do have real interest in Donovan, new Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom is methodically going through other teams’ farm systems, and a deal isn’t expected to happen this week.

Contrast that with Seattle’s more immediate board. Polanco remains the Mariners’ top priority; Dipoto and Co. have made it pretty clear they want him back, even if the years and dollars are still being haggled over. If you handed Mariners fans a preference ballot right now, Polanco and Ketel Marte are probably top priorities, with Donovan sitting comfortably behind as the “hey, that’d be nice too” option.

Marte’s market is the one actually buzzing. Jon Heyman of the New York Post has the Diamondbacks’ switch-hitting star drawing interest from the Red Sox, Mariners, Blue Jays, and a couple of NL contenders as things “heat up.” Arizona is listening, but they’re asking for an established, high-end starter plus more, which lines up with earlier reporting that they want arms at or near MLB level. That’s a painful price, but at least it’s an active situation.

The Cardinals-Mariners thing is different. Both front offices are meticulous, both believe their guys are a little more valuable than the rest of the league does, and both are perfectly willing to walk away if the final offer doesn’t match their internal models. That’s how you end up with years of smoke and almost no actual fire between these two.

So no, this isn’t the Donovan article where everything suddenly clicks. This is the reminder that the Mariners don’t have unlimited time or attention to burn on a front office that’s still in “spreadsheet and scouting-report” phase.

Polanco is ready to sign somewhere. Marte’s market is already swirling. The Cardinals can take their time. The Mariners can’t, and they’re better off chasing the bats whose timelines actually match their own.