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Brendan Donovan is in Seattle. The Mariners roped in the Rays to build a three-way trade that cost them glove man Ben Williamson, two recent first-round picks in Jurrangelo Cjiinte and Tai Peete, and a Bud’s Bonus draft pick. The Mariners didn’t touch the core of their farm system to add an OBP-forward infielder on a low salary who could fill a number of roles for them depending on how other players progress. Per Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS system, Donovan is projected to lead the Mariners in OBP, which should let him fill a leadoff spot that was a big problem last year: 27th in OPS+, 25th in OBP.
The risk here is mostly in the adjustment to T-Mobile Park. In recent seasons, many hitters the Mariners have acquired have seen their production collapse in Seattle. Jesse Winker had a .288/.385/.504 career line before being dealt northwest in 2022. He hit .219/.344/.344 for the Mariners. Carlos Santana came over from the Royals that summer with his career .362 OBP and hit .192/.293/.400 in half a season. The next year, Teoscar Hernandez arrived in Seattle with a career 121 OPS+, hit for a 108 mark that year, then bounced back to 120 in two seasons with the Dodgers. That season, we also watched the careers of Kolten Wong and A.J. Pollock ended by the dead air at T-Mobile.
