Brendan Donovan trade: Mariners close to acquiring Cardinals All-Star in three-team trade, per report

The Seattle Mariners are close to acquiring All-Star infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan from the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-team trade that also involves the Tampa Bay Rays, ESPN reports. None of the involved clubs has yet announced the trade. 

Donovan, who's going into his age-29 season in 2026, is coming off his first career All-Star selection this past season. His best position is second base, and he can also man first, third, and left, and cover shortstop in limited doses. At the plate, Donovan put up an OPS+ of 119 this past season, and that figure is right in line with his career mark of 117 across parts of four MLB campaigns. Furthermore, there's cause to believe he may have found a higher level with the bat in 2025. Through the end of May, Donovan boasted a wOBA of .373 and backed it up with expected wOBA of .370. In June, though, an MRI on Donovan's ailing left toe turned up a sprained capsule in the joint. Donovan toughed it out, but the injury cascaded throughout his lower half, messed up his swing mechanics, and sapped his production. The Mariners are no doubt hoping he's able to rediscover and sustain that higher level moving forward. 

Donovan is eligible for arbitration this winter, and he won't hit free agency until after the 2027 season.

From the Cardinals' standpoint, the trade of Donovan is in many ways the capstone on an offseason that's seen them commit fully to a rebuild under first-year president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. Earlier in the winter, Bloom and the Cardinals in a pair of deals sent right-hander Sonny Gray and first baseman/former catcher Willson Contreras to the Red Sox and then offloaded veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado to the Diamondbacks. In each deal, the Cardinals added young pitching to an organization that prior to Bloom's takeover was starved for velocity and swing and miss. As well, ownership in each of those three deals included significant cash in order improve the return. That was especially the case in the Arenado swap. As for the Donovan trade, it not only adds young talent to an improving farm system but also fully clears the decks for top prospect JJ Wetherholt in 2026. He's now the favorite to open the 2026 season as the Cardinals' starting second baseman. 

CBS Sports will have more to come on this story.