The Seattle Mariners spent the majority of this offseason tied to trade rumors involving a 2025 All-Star.

"This is my first time ever being traded," Brendan Donovan said in news conference Wednesday at the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Ariz. "I wasn't sure what to expect, but I thought it went smooth. When I got the call from (president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto), I was like 'OK this is a real thing.' Immediately after talking with my family, we were just excited. You see the history of this organization and what the team did last year, and immediately after, just the welcoming factor. Guys were just so welcoming to my family and I. To me that's very important. ... Just seems like an overall great group of people."

The Mariners made the rumors a reality when they acquired Donovan, a versatile defender with high on-base metrics, from the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-team trade that also involved the Tampa Bay Rays.

Seattle had reported interest in Donovan dating back to 2024.

"It's good to be wanted," Donovan said. "Being on the other side of this, it was always tough, especially facing this (pitching) staff and the way that they play the game. You just look at the pitching staff and if you put the ball in play, you're pretty much out. That was frustrating from the opposing side. I'm excited to be playing behind them, not against them."

Donovan, who played mainly second base for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2025, seems to be beginning his tenure with the Mariners at third base, which he didn't play last year.

The most Donovan has played at the hot corner in a single year was his rookie year in '22. He played 189 innings at third that year. He hasn't played more than 52.2 innings at the position in a single year since.

As is the right of passage with every major league Seattle infielder, Donovan's field work has coincided with the coaching from the team's infield coach, Perry "Bone" Hill.

Despite this being his first time working directly under Hill, Donovan is familiar with the long-time coach's teaching dating back to the former's time in college playing for South Alabama.

"I actually first heard about (Hill) in college," Donovan said. "We had an infield coach in college who was big on the six 'F's.' That was my first introduction to that. As you start meeting infield coaches, a lot of the things that they have have come from him. It's kind of cool, just the lineage that has been passed down from his knowledge. ... It's so simple, it just makes so much sense."

The six 'F's' refers to the steps in Hill's infield philosophy: feet, field, funnel, footwork, fire, follow.

Donovan's early work in spring training follows a career pattern. And as the key acquisition of the offseason for the Mariners, that's a welcome habit.

Fans will get to see Donovan suit up for Seattle for the first time in the team's Cactus League opener against the San Diego Padres at 12:10 p.m. PT on Feb. 20 at the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Ariz.

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