Grading the Brendan Donovan trade return Cardinals held out for in endless process

Considering that the St. Louis Cardinals and Seattle Mariners were attached at the hip all offseason regarding Brendan Donovan rumors, it's no surprise that they finally pulled of their long-awaited blockbuster once the calendar turned to February.

Of course, the fact that it took until February to get a deal done speaks to the pateince displayed by Chaim Bloom and the Redbirds' front office. They were quick to move off of Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, and Nolan Arenado once the right suitors presented themselves, but unlike that triumvirate of veterans, the Cardinals were far more careful to drum up the maximum return for their All-Star second baseman.

So, how did St. Louis do? We'll grade the trade from their perspective below; the Mariners obviously did well to fill their second base hole with a versatile star, and the Tampa Bay Rays found yet another three-team trade to sneak their way into. They aren't the focus of our coverage, but it's not hard to argue that their grades should reflect positively upon their efforts.

Grading Cardinals' haul for Brendan Donavan in trade with Mariners

Before getting to the actual return, it's worth pointing out what the Cardinals lost in Donovan. He posted a 119 wRC+ while making his first-ever All-Star Game appearance in 2025, hitting .287/.353/.422 overall on the season. A versatile defender who earned the National League's utility player Gold Glove in 2022, Donovan is a reliably valuable player who has shown flashes of an even higher offensive ceiling in the past (125 wRC+ in the first half of last season).

That's a player worth building around, and suitably, the Redbirds got a nice haul in exchange. The full return includes switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje (from SEA), INF/OF Tai Peete (from SEA), OF Colton Ledbetter (from TBR), and two Competitive Balance Round B picks (from SEA and TBR).

Cijntje is the prize here, as a Top 100 prospect with legitimate switch-pitching ability. That may not last forever — he allowed an OPS over 1.000 as a southpaw last year — but he's clearly capable of handling a starter's workload while maintaining sold results (3.99 ERA in 108 1/3 innings in 2025). Perhaps a focus on pitching exclusively from the right side could speed up his development, though an electric right-handed starter with left-handed relieving tools sounds like pitcher-only version of Shohei Ohtani.

Peete, meanwhile, is a 20-year-old power-speed threat. He's hit 26 home runs and stolen 70 bases combined over the past two campaigns, reaching High-A in 2025 while posting a 79 wRC+. That latter figure, as well as Peete's 30.6% strikeout rate, figure to be the biggest sticking points in his profile. Still incredibly young and with enough speed to evolve into an excellent defensive outfielder, this is another big-upside swing by Bloom.

Insofar as the Cardinals acquired a high-floor prospect in this deal, Ledbetter fits the bill. His tools aren't nearly as loud as the other two players, but he's got great speed and solid on-base skills. A true outfielder, the 24-year-old's wRC+ has never dropped below 112 in any season of his pro career.

The draft picks may seem like filler, but as two top-75 picks (Nos. 68 and 72, specifically), the Cardinals now have six selections inside the top 100 in the 2026 MLB Draft. Adding these picks also increases the team's signing bonus pool allotment, meaning they can take a few more swings on over-slot players later in the draft.

Considering that Lazaro Montes, MLB Pipeline's No. 43 overall prospect (48 spots ahead of Cijntje), was rumored to be part of the Cardinals' desired package, it's fair to feel like they went for a bit more quantity than quality here. At the same time, two prospects with immense upside (one of whom is a unicorn on the mound), another with a solid floor, and two top-75 draft picks is a huge return for a one-time All-Star with two years of team control remaining.

Verdict: A-