Donovan or Marte? Weighing Seattle Mariners 2B trade options

This post was originally published on this site.

Jorge Polanco is not returning to the Seattle Mariners, so they now find themselves looking elsewhere to fill their stated priority for a veteran infield bat.

When it comes to options for the Mariners, there has been smoke around two All-Stars on the trading block: Brendan Donovan of the St. Louis Cardinals and Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Mariners insider Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports joined Bump and Stacy on Monday, and she provided a look at the situations around both Donovan and Marte, as well as how they each would fit for the Mariners as trade targets and potential acquisitions.

“They both would be good, and they’d be a little bit different,” Drayer said of Donovan and Marte.

The versatile Brendan Donovan

The Mariners are one of two “front-runners” to made a trade with the Cardinals for Donovan, Katie Woo of The Athletic reported Saturday. She wrote that two of Seattle’s seven prospects ranked in the top 100 in baseball by MLB, outfielder Lazaro Montes (No. 29 overall) and switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje (No. 90), have been discussed in trade talks between the two teams.

More: M’s reportedly a front-runner for Cardinals’ Donovan

A deal for Donovan may be the more attractive option for Seattle because he’s younger than Marte, would cost less in a trade, and provides more positional flexibility.

“(Donovan) does not have the power potential that Marte has, but (he’s) a good hitter, very athletic, can move around the diamond a little bit, and could fill the need there at a lower cost,” Drayer said.

While typically a second baseman, Donovan played sparingly in left field and at shortstop in 2025, and has also appeared at third, first and right field during his MLB career. With the Mariners looking to find time for Ben Williamson at third, Cole Young at second and potentially top prospect Colt Emerson somewhere in the infield this year, Donovan’s bat and glove could be a valuable addition due to his ability to play several positions.

Drayer: Mariners’ plan for 2B and 3B coming more into focus

A left-handed hitter, Donovan won the National League Gold Glove at the utility position as a rookie in 2022 and was a first-time All-Star in 2025. The 28 year old hit a career-high .287 with 10 home runs, 32 doubles, a .353 on-base percentage and .775 OPS in 118 games last season.

Donovan has two more years of team control left on his contract, and is estimated to make $5.4 million next year as an arbitration-eligible player, per MLB Trade Rumors.

The elite Ketel Marte

Marte, 32, was an All-Star for the third time in 2025, slashing .283/.376/.517 for an .893 OPS with 28 homers and 28 doubles in 126 games. The switch-hitter has almost exclusively played second base in the field since 2022, but he came up with the Mariners as a shortstop, has 174 games of MLB experience in center field and has made a few appearances at third.

Marte has five years left on a six-year, $116.5 million contract that is seen as fairly team-friendly for a player of his caliber.

“I feel good about him aging,” Drayer said of Marte. “Very reasonable contract. In fact, it looks like a contract the Mariners would have given to one of their own – they have not had to pay outrageously. He’d step in and be not just a veteran bat (but) a very good bat. There’s some versatility, but you could play him second, third. You could lead him off.”

How likely are they to be traded?

While it’s expected that it would require a big haul to net Marte from the Diamondbacks, there is a bit of a ticking-clock element to the situation. He will become a 10-and-five player early next season for having 10 years of MLB experience including at least the last five with his current team, and that will come with the power to veto any trades.

Can the M’s give up what Arizona wants in a Marte trade?

“Arizona will tell you they don’t have to make that trade. I think they have to make that trade because Marte becomes a 10-and-5 player in the second week of the regular season,” Drayer said. “At that point, they lose so much leverage. … They extended Marte last year and now they’re talking about trading him, which is a pretty good indicator they really want to trade him right now.

“And then you’re also wondering, what he’s thinking at this point? Kind of heard things (that he could be traded in July) at the deadline, had the extension, they’re (talking a trade) again. He might be pretty up for that at that point, and there might be some ruffled feathers on that.”

It’s a different situation with Donovan and the Cardinals, though St. Louis has a new president of baseball operations in Chaim Bloom who may be looking to go a different direction.

“St. Louis does not have to make that trade,” Drayer said. “I think they will, but there is nothing pushing them to make that trade other than you have a new (president) in there and it looks like they want to shake things up, they want to go on a different path, and (a Donovan trade) is probably going to net you the best players.”

Hear the full Bump and Stacy conversation with Mariners insider Shannon Drayer in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post. Catch Bump and Stacy live from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.