The shock of Jorge Polanco’s departure to the New York Mets is still fresh in the Pacific Northwest. It was hardly a betrayal given the money the Mets offered, yet the result for the Seattle Mariners is the same either way: they now have to make a pivot that they didn’t want to have to make.
Yet the Mariners seem to be moving fast, and specifically in the direction of Brendan Donovan. Adam Jude of The Seattle Times posited in the immediate aftermath of Polanco’s defection on Saturday that the St. Louis Cardinals second baseman would become even more of a priority. Hours later, Katie Woo of The Athletic reported that the Mariners have emerged as one of two frontrunners for Donovan, alongside the San Francisco Giants.
Mariners Rumors: Cardinals are driving a hard bargain on Jorge Polanco alternative
The Cardinals are unsurprisingly not selling Donovan short in talks with Seattle. According to Woo, two names the Cardinals have inquired about are switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje and right fielder Lazaro Montes.
These are two of the more prominent prospects in the Mariners’ farm system, with the slugging Montes in particular ranking as MLB Pipeline’s No. 29 overall prospect. Cijntje is a bit further down at No. 90, but “switch-pitcher who throws in the upper 90s as a righty and low 90s as a lefty” is about as compelling a profile as there is in the minor leagues right now.
This said, the Cardinals clearly have the right idea about Donovan’s value. The 28-year-old is under club control through 2027, and his credentials include an All-Star nod and a Gold Glove. He’s a .282 hitter with a .361 OBP for his career, and this year he had a strikeout rate in the 92nd percentile.
All of the above are qualities the Mariners need after Polanco’s exit. And if you’re Cardinals president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, you know it. Backing down is the last thing he should be expected to do, least of all with another customer on the line in San Francisco.
For Jerry Dipoto, there must be some understanding that the Cardinals are asking for a lot, but not too much. At least according to Baseball Trade Values, the Mariners would get the better end of a one-for-one swap of Donovan for either Montes or Cijntje. Donovan is that solid of a major leaguer, while neither Montes nor Cijntje is in the same prospect tier as Colt Emerson or Kade Anderson.
There’s a deal to be made here, in other words, and it may well be the best deal the Mariners can make in the wake of losing Polanco. Ketel Marte is certainly the hotter name, but Seattle just doesn’t line up well with what the Arizona Diamondbacks.
What’s for sure is that a trade for Donovan is no longer a luxury. With Polanco in New York, it looks a heck of a lot more like a necessity.
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