Cardinals trade utilityman Brendan Donovan to the Mariners

Brendan Donovan (YouTube)

There was a three-way trade made in Major League Baseball this week. It involved the St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays. According to Rogers Sportsnet on Monday, the St. Louis Cardinals traded utilityman Brendan Donovan of Wurzburg, Germany to the Seattle Mariners. The Tampa Bay Rays acquired third baseman Ben Williamson of Fairfax, Virginia from the Mariners, and the Cardinals acquired three prospects and two draft picks.

Donovan is joining his second MLB franchise after spending the last four seasons with the Cardinals. By playing effective defense in the outfield and infield in his rookie season, he won the National League Gold Glove award at the utility position. Then this past season, Donovan batted .287 with 10 home runs and 50 runs batted in, and was a National League All-Star. During 118 games, 460 at bats, and 515 plate appearances, he scored 64 runs and had 132 hits, 32 doubles, three stolen bases, 42 walks, 194 total bases, two sacrifice bunts, four sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .353 and a slugging percentage of .422.

Williamson was a rookie this past season for the Mariners. He batted .277 with one home run and 21 runs batted in. During 85 games, 277 at bats and 295 plate appearances, Williamson scored 36 runs and had 70 hits, 13 doubles, five stolen bases, 15 walks, 86 total bases, two sacrifice bunts, an on base percentage of .294 and a slugging percentage of .310. Williamson’s home run was in an 8-4 Mariners win over the Toronto Blue Jays on April 19. The game went into 12 innings before being completed. It is fair to say that the Rays will be looking for more power at the hot corner position in 2026 than what Williamson provided the Mariners.