On Saturday morning, the Seattle Mariners officially missed out on one of their biggest offseason priorities as Jorge Polanco signed a two-year, $40 million deal with the New York Mets.

While the M's have brought back Josh Naylor and acquired a bullpen arm in Jose Ferrer, the offseason is now incomplete, with Seattle facing pressure to improve the offense in the wake of 2025's trip to the American League Championship Series.

Well, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Mariners are working to meet that pressure. They are emerging as one of the favorites for St. Louis Cardinals trade candidate Brendan Donovan, who is one of the hottest names on the market. Woo says that the San Francisco Giants are also being aggressive.

About Donovan

Now 28 years old, Donovan will turn 29 in January. A four-year veteran of the Cardinals, he hit .287 in 2025 with 10 homers and 50 RBIs. He had a .353 on-base percentage, a 119 OPS+ and was named an All-Star. He's a career .282 hitter who had only a 13.0 percent strikeout rate, something the M's are hoping to improve upon in 2026.

He has two years left of team control and can play all over the diamond. He spent 100 games at second base, 18 in left field, six at shortstop and two at designated hitter. He was named a finalist for the Silver Slugger Award at the utility position. 

How the Mariners could use him

Well, with Polanco no longer in the mix at designated hitter, the M's could use him in any number of places. If they are able to retain Cole Young in the trade for Donovan, they could use Young at second base and Donovan at DH, or Donovan could play second and Young could DH. Donovan could also work in the outfield and give Randy Arozarena time at designated hitter. The Mariners could also rotate all three players through the DH spot.

How much will it cost the M's?

Per Woo's reporting:

The Mariners have been linked to the 28-year-old infielder for several weeks, but a source described trade momentum as “picking up” since MLB’s Winter Meetings concluded Wednesday. One name the Cardinals have inquired on is pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje, a first-round draft pick for Seattle in 2024, who throws both right- and left-handed. Outfielder Lazaro Montes has also been discussed, among others.

The Cardinals are not expected to compete in 2026 or 2027, so they likely won't have much desire for MLB players who have already exhausted service time. Even though Young still has a full six years of service time left, it's possible that the Cardinals won't want him, allowing Seattle to keep him. The Cardinals have a top middle infield prospect (JJ Wetherholt) waiting in the wings and may just want to give him the second base job if they trade Donovan.

It's unclear, at this time, if the two teams are talking about the idea of Montes and Cijntje together - of with each of them as the headliner of their own separate packages.

What we're saying

As noted on Saturday:

Whether or not the Mariners wanted to give Polanco this exact deal or not, they are now forced to get uncomfortable in another way. Are they prepared to pay $150 or $200 million for Alex Bregman or Bo Bichette? How about $350 or $400 million for Kyle Tucker? How about the prospect capital required to trade for Brendan Donovan or Ketel Marte? Do they want to go into the season with the uncertainty of Cole Young AND Ben Williamson/Colt Emerson at third? 

There's also the Japanese free agent duo of Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto. Do the M's want to bank on either of those players coming from the NPB and instantly contributing to a World Series-caliber group?

No matter what decision they make, they will be doing something uncomfortable. Cijntje is the team's No. 7 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. Montes is No. 3, for reference. Both are in the MLB Top 100.

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