Just days before Seattle Mariners pitchers and catchers reported to the team's Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Ariz., the team made a move that offered a big improvement to an already-solid lineup.

The Mariners acquired 2025 All-Star utility player Brendan Donovan in a three-team trade from the St. Louis Cardinals that also included the Tampa Bay Rays.

Seattle's interest in Donovan dated back to last offseason and those rumors heated up around the winter meetings in early December. The longer the offseason went on, there was speculation on whether or not the deal would actually happen. Several insiders continued to express their belief Donovan would end up in the Pacific Northwest.

The M's ended up pushing the deal over the finish line and it's already starting to yield results.

Donovan was one of the earliest position players to arrive in Peoria and is already working to learn the team and the coaching staff.

Donovan, who played mostly at second base with the Cardinals, is expected to play third for the Mariners, highlighting the versatility that led the organization to being interested in acquiring him.

The appreciation for the one-time All-Star and one-time Gold Glover (2022) extends beyond the Seattle organization.

In a recent episode of the Refuse to Lose podcast, ESPN insider Buster Olney spoke about the respect for Donovan around baseball and his fit with the Mariners.

"People love him," Olney said on the podcast. "There are just people in this sport that generate universal appreciation (and) respect from folks with other teams. When you talk to people in recent years about the Cardinals, they'd be like 'Man, Donovan is a great player.' Everyone wanted a guy (like that). I remember Dave Roberts talking about him, the Dodgers manager. He's just the sort of player everyone respects. ... He seems ready to play every day, he moves around at different positions and, let's face it, the Cardinals' situation in recent years has been pretty bad. They're essentially going through a rebuild right now, they weren't a big loss team last year (but) no one expected them to compete. For him to get an opportunity to go in Seattle where there is high expectation — for a guy who's gonna hit in the top of the lineup, high on-base percentage guy, guy who'll move around readily, whatever the team needs — It just feels like an absolute perfect fit."

Last season, Donovan slashed .287/.353/.422 with a .775 OPS and hit 32 doubles and 10 home runs with 50 RBIs. He played every position in the field except first base, third base and center field.

The Mariners open Cactus League play on Feb. 20 against the San Diego Padres.

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