Every Plan A needs B and C options…
There’s little doubt that Jorge Polanco was Plan A for the Seattle Mariners.
After arguably his best offensive season in the big leagues, Polanco spurned a reunion with Seattle for a bigger payday (two years, $40 million, to be exact) with the New York Mets. The 32-year-old seemed exceptionally torn on the decision, but there’s no consolation prize in free agency.
All along, the Mariners’ pivot options seemed obvious, but in the wake of Polanco’s departure, one baseball insider confirmed that the trade market is a wide-open lane for Seattle to explore — though competition promises to be fierce.
Why Mariners remain involved for Marte, Donovan
On Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic confirmed in a report that the Mariners were still in the hunt to trade for second basemen Ketel Marte and Brendan Donovan, of the Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively, at the time of publication.
“The Mariners, seeking to rebound from the loss of free-agent infielder Jorge Polanco to the New York Mets, remain in the mix for the Diamondbacks’ Marte as well as the Cardinals’ Donovan, according to people briefed on their pursuits,” wrote Rosenthal.
“Donovan’s defensive versatility makes him in some ways a better fit for Seattle. …His ability to move to other spots would be especially valuable. Marte, 32, is more than three years older than Donovan. Yet, he is under contract for six seasons while Donovan is under club control for only two. He also is the more impactful hitter.”
Neither team is under immense time pressure to trade their star, but the Cardinals will likely never get better value for Donovan than they will this offseason, and Marte will get a full no-trade clause when he hits 10 years of service time in the middle of the season.
Seattle has one of the most stacked farm systems in the sport, but Arizona, in particular, seems to be targeting young big-league-ready starting pitching. The Mariners have five excellent starters, but they haven’t been willing to listen on any of those starters under age 30 in the past couple of trade windows.
Donovan seems like the more realistic option at this point, because the Cardinals are entering rebuild mode and likely willing to take on prospects who still need some seasoning. But the fact that Seattle remains in the running for both increases the likelihood that one will eventually wind up a Mariner.
