Mariners acquire dream Guardians trade target in complex three-team deal 

It seems like the Cardinals have been dangling Brendan Donovan in front of Guardians’ fans' faces all offseason. 

They finally ripped him away on Monday thanks to a three-team deal where the Cardinals dealt Donovan to the Seattle Mariners.

In total, the Mariners are acquiring Donovan for the cost of third baseman Ben Williamson (who is going to the Rays) and pitching prospect Jurrangelo Cijntje, who is going to the Mariners. 

The Cardinals also received OF Colton Ledbetter and two competitive-balance Round B picks from the Rays. 

The Mariners are also dealing outfield prospect Tai Peete per The Seattle Times’ Adam Jude and Ryan Divish, meaning the Mariners gave up two former first-round picks in Cijntje and Peete, which is a bit of a steep price for the utility ace. 

The move is the finalization of a months-long courtship by the Mariners, who were listed as “front-runners” for Donovan’s services in the middle of December. 

Mariners pay a steep price for dream Guardians trade target Brendan Donovan 

While Donovan being traded this offseason seemed like a foregone conclusion given how quickly the Cardinals went to work on a rebuild this offseason, it seemed like St. Louis was trying to wait the market out as long as possible to try to maximize their return for him. 

And Donovan is clearly an important player on a winning team, albeit in a way that’s tougher to quantify than some other players. 

That said, it’s not hard to see how he can help the Mariners, who came within a game of winning the American League last year and started their offseason off by re-signing old friend Josh Naylor. 

But even with Naylor in the fold the Mariners had a clear middle infield problem considering their top middle infield options prior to this trade were Ryan Bliss, Miles Mastrobuoni and J.P. Crawford. 

Donovan will likely see most of his playing time at second base, which he played 100 times last season along with seeing time in the outfield. 

That was why he stood out as a clear trade target for the Guardians even if he wouldn’t have helped balance their left-handed heavy lineup (which was reportedly one of the main reasons why the Guardians didn’t go after him). 

But even if Donovan wasn’t the right-handed bat they needed, he has the offensive profile they need more of. Last season Donovan put together an All-Star first half and ended up finishing the season with a .287/.353/.422 slashline to go along with 10 home runs and 50 RBI despite dealing with a toe injury that limited him throughout most of the second half. 

He’s hit double-digit home runs in each of the past three seasons and has legitimate gap-to-gap power. 

The Guardians finished last season with the second-worst team batting average from second baseman (.216) and right fielders (.200) — two areas where Donovan could have clearly helped in Cleveland's quest to repeat as American League Division champions. 

They won’t have to wait long to see Dononvan either since Cleveland will open the season against Seattle at T-Mobile Park on March 26.