On Monday, the Seattle Mariners acquired All-Star utility player Brendan Donovan in a big deal with the St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays. The M's parted with prospects Jurrangelo Cijntje, Tai Peete, and the No. 68 pick in the MLB Draft, as well as third baseman Ben Williamson to get the deal done for Donovan, who has two years left of team control.

While some fans are leery of giving all that up for a player who had 10 homers and 50 RBIs last season, I see it as a worthwhile gamble for the M's.

I discussed it as much on the most recent 'Refuse to Lose' podcast, which came out on Tuesday:

We'll talk about what the Mariners gave up momentarily, but I've gotta tell you right off the top, I really, really, really like this move. This is the kind of move that a team who came painfully close to getting to the World Series a year earlier makes, and this is the kind of move that a team that wants to get to the World Series in this current season makes.

I've told you repeatedly look, I don't work for the Mariners. This is not state-run media. If I didn't like the off season, I would tell you, but I've told you all along, I believe the Mariners have had a very good off-season, but I thought it could be great. This move, to me, makes it a great off-season.

The Mariners are best team on paper in the American League West. They are the favorite for the division. I do not think they are better than Toronto right now. I do not know if they are better than the Yankees right now. But they can win their division today, and if they can win their division, and the AL East cannibalizes itself, then the Mariners can get the number one seed in the playoffs. And as we've seen, and as we saw a year ago, that absolutely matters.

I believe that the Mariners have now had a great offseason. There is always more that you could do, but the Mariners have had a great offseason.

In addition to acquiring Donovan, the Mariners have acquired high-leverage reliever Jose Ferrer, and they've signed Rob Refsnyder and Josh Naylor. The lineup and the bullpen are both deep and should have the M's ready to contend for the American League pennant in 2026.

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