The Seattle Mariners are still hunting for another meaningful upgrade before Opening Day, but a new report suggests they’re trying to do it without touching the part of the roster they view as their biggest advantage: the major league rotation.
Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reported that Seattle is willing to include top pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje in a package for St. Louis Cardinals infielder Brendan Donovan, but the front office has been “adamant” it doesn’t want to trade an established big league starter to make a deal happen.
That stance matters because Donovan is exactly the type of player the Mariners have been tied to: an MLB-ready bat with defensive versatility and multiple years of club control. And it also helps explain why this has remained a “talks” story rather than a finished transaction.
Key details:
- Seattle’s interest in Brendan Donovan is real, and discussions have been described as “lengthy.”
- The Mariners are open to dealing from the top of a strong farm system — including Cijntje — but are trying to avoid subtracting from their MLB rotation.
- St. Louis has signaled a preference for MLB-ready pitching in recent trades, which is part of the squeeze point in negotiations.
Why Seattle Is Protecting Its Rotation in These Talks
On paper, trading a starter to buy a bat can be a clean baseball trade. In practice, Seattle’s rotation depth behind its top group is the reason Dipoto’s side is digging in.
Per MLBTR, Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, Bryan Woo and George Kirby all made at least 23 starts in 2025, and only Castillo did it without an IL stint. Bryce Miller missed more than half the season with elbow inflammation, which forced the Mariners into thinner depth than they’d like.
The next wave isn’t a sure thing, either. Emerson Hancock has a career 4.81 ERA in 162 MLB innings, and rookie Logan Evans posted a 4.32 ERA across 81 1/3 innings while also showing modest bat-missing numbers in the majors, per the same report.
That’s the pressure point: if Seattle trades from the front of the rotation, it’s not just losing talent; it’s betting it can survive the inevitable summer innings crunch with unproven options.
What It Means for a Potential Brendan Donovan Deal
If the Mariners are truly drawing a line at “no established MLB starters,” the trade conversation becomes more narrow and more prospect-driven.
That can work — especially for a team like Seattle that’s consistently been praised for pitching development — but it also means St. Louis has to be comfortable taking younger arms rather than the kind of immediate rotation help it’s been linked to seeking.
The other key dynamic: the market. Multiple teams have been connected to Donovan, which can keep the asking price elevated and prolong the process into January and February. A report from The Athletic suggested Seattle and San Francisco were frontrunners to land Donovan.
The Bigger Trade Market Context for Seattle
Seattle’s “don’t touch the rotation” posture also intersects with other rumored infield targets around the league, including Arizona’s Ketel Marte, who has drawn heavy trade chatter this winter, with reporting that the Diamondbacks are seeking pitching help in any deal.
If Seattle wants “one more notable splash,” as the report framed it, the cleanest path may be the one they’re signaling: move premium prospects, keep the big league starters, and keep pushing to add offense without creating a new problem on the mound.
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