The Giants solved their second base needs on Saturday, so the M's seemingly have the inside track at Brendan Donovan.
It would seem as if the Seattle Mariners and St. Louis Cardinals are now in a staring contest over a possible Brendan Donovan trade.
It's been known all offseason that the M's are interested in acquiring the versatile All-Star, and he would be a big boon to the team's lineup as they look to capture the American League West crown again in 2026.
And now the dominoes are starting to fall in the M's favor - at least it feels like.
The San Francisco Giants were interested in Donovan, but after signing Luis Arraez on Saturday, they no longer have a need at second base. The Boston Red Sox were interested, but they seemed to pivot to pitching by signing Ranger Suarez to a lucrative deal.
The Mets fulfilled their infield needs by signing Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco and the Cubs went out and got Alex Bregman. The number of suitors, and competitors, for Donovan has dropped, which means maybe it's just the M's in the market for Donovan. Someone has to blink.
The situation at hand
Chaim Bloom and the Cardinals don't have to trade Donovan. He's under team control for two seasons. The Cardinals can move him at the trade deadline if they want, and they can threaten the Mariners with that too. However, if they go that route, they risk Donovan playing poorly - or getting hurt.
Secondly, with looming labor strife coming, there's no guarantee that a 2027 year of control really matters for Donovan. If teams don't know if there will be a season, why would they pay premium prices at the deadline for Donovan for just 50 games or so at the end of 2026?
If Bloom wants to maximize the amount of games Donovan can play for a team, that would be now. Perhaps he'll blink and accept an offer from the M's, even if its not totally to his standards.
On the other side, perhaps the M's fear letting other teams getting involved at the deadline. If they do, perhaps they'll cave.
What Buster Olney of ESPN is saying
Olney was on our 'Refuse to Lose' podcast on Thursday and had this to say (before the Giants signed Arraez).
​I ​would ​not ​interpret ​the ​length ​of ​these ​negotiations ​as ​being ​​St. ​Louis ​dissatisfied ​with ​what ​Seattle's ​offer ​is ​or ​what ​the ​Giants ​offer ​is. ​As ​you ​know, ​that's ​just ​how Chaim ​Bloom, ​who's ​head ​of ​baseball ​operations ​and ​Cardinals, ​does ​business. ​He's ​known ​as ​the ​most ​deliberate ​front ​office ​person ​in ​the ​sport. ​And ​I ​think ​he's ​going ​through ​his ​process ​and ​I'm ​still ​really ​curious ​to ​see, ​you ​know, ​will ​the ​Mariners ​land ​Brendan ​Donovan?"
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