The Mariners can still be buyers at the trade deadline. But buying cannot mean acting as if the farm system is an unlimited gift card. Not after the Brendan Donovan trade is already starting to get slightly uncomfortable.
The final score is not set in stone. And there’s still plenty of season left. Donovan could come back healthy, return to the spark he gave the offense at the beginning of the season, and make this conversation look very different when the Mariners are playing in October.
But in the present tense, the Mariners aren’t exactly getting the return that makes you eager to move another pile of prospects.
What exactly would the Mariners move more prospects for in the first place? Sure, they could use another bullpen arm. Many would argue they could use another impact bat. But wasn’t that supposed to be Donovan? And he surely isn’t out for the season.
The Donovan trade came with two years of control. He also came with a profile Seattle badly needed. When he has played, he’s been good. Donovan is slashing .274/.386/.452 with three home runs and eight RBI in 25 games. That’s exactly the kind of hitter the Mariners thought they were getting.
The problem is not the player when he is on the field. It’s that he hasn’t been on the field enough.
The Mariners moved real pieces for two years of Donovan, and he has already sat more games than he’s played.
Ben Williamson isn’t haunting the Mariners by any means. But he is slashing .255/.335/.319 with no home runs, 18 RBI and five stolen bases for the Rays. Along with that offensive production has been a constant highlight reel of web gems. Honestly, he fits so perfectly with Tampa Bay, his involvement in that trade makes sense.
What’s annoying is that the Mariners sure could’ve used a third baseman recently with Donovan, Crawford, and Emerson all out with injuries. Funny how that works. But that’s also Monday morning quarterbacking.
The scariest part of this trade is not Williamson. Probably not even Jurrangelo Cijntje.
It’s Tai Peete. He’s slashing .272/.350/.528 with five home runs and 24 RBI in High-A. And look, we know the rules here. High-A is far from the big leagues. But Peete was always the upside play. He was the kind of prospect you can justify moving if the player coming back is making an immediate impact in Seattle. And he was very much blocked in the organization.
Still, this is all why Donovan’s health matters so much.
If Donovan is in the lineup every day, getting on base and helping Seattle win games, you live with Peete’s progress somewhere else. That’s the price of doing business.
But if Donovan is hurt while Peete is slugging in the minors, Williamson is actually getting All-Star votes, and Jurrangelo Cijntje is still piling up strikeouts as one of the more intriguing arms in Double-A, the trade starts to feel more dangerous.
This is how regret starts. Not all at once. It builds slowly, with the big-league player missing time and the prospects you moved beginning to look more interesting every month.
This is where the deadline conversation gets serious.
The Mariners should not sit out the market because the Donovan trade is off to a bumpy start. That would be an overcorrection. But they also cannot pretend the Donovan deal is irrelevant.
Before Seattle even thinks about moving any other meaningful piece of the farm system, this trade should be sitting on the front office’s desk.
The Donovan trade might still work out. He’s more than talented enough for that. And when he gets healthy and starts stacking productive games, the conversation will change again.
But right now, the Mariners are staring at the uncomfortable version of the deal. Not enough to bury it. However, enough to proceed with caution.
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