Donovan 30.7
Liberatore 14.9
Romero 6.3
? (Pages or Crooks are both about 8-9)
the numbers align on paper, but the stingiest team in the MLB won't part with their best arms...arguably both are Top 10 best arms in the majors.
I would agree that it is hard to imagine Seattle giving up that much in SP prospects in one deal.
But. Wouldn’t Libby replace their Anderson. Sloan unproven. Injury away from a bust. This is a good deal for Seattle. Very safe.
No....and the Mariners need a severe penalty if they traded Libby for Anderson straight up.
Agree
A team that has a tight grip on TOR's is not suddenly going to give up 2.
Seattle would probably love Libs but the return likely turns it into a wash for
the Cardinals.
Adding a Cardinal pitcher with MLB experience to a Donovan trade to improve the return
of that Donovan trade has plenty of rationale it also aligns better with the loss of a #6 in
Evans. One of the Boston boys Fitts or Dobbins, One of the Cards #5's Pallante or Leahy seems more
logical to me. Then a Cintje, who has some upside as a RHP imo, works much better.
One of those Cards pitchers above Leahy? plus Donnie for Cijntje, Arroyo, Bautista and/or their
CB pick seems like a starting point.
Seattle’s GM met the fans at their fan fest this morning and took questions When asked about Sloan he said they anticipate him to be eventually better than any starter they have now. High praise considering their current starters. Pretty sure you don’t trade that.
The big news was he said that they still intend to add an impact bat either before ST or early on.He downplayed Suarez as they are looking for a contact hitter and said Kwan was not an option as he only played left field. Donovan’s name was not brought up.
kyace wrote: ↑31 Jan 2026 14:55 pm
Seattle’s GM met the fans at their fan fest this morning and took questions When asked about Sloan he said they anticipate him to be eventually better than any starter they have now. High praise considering their current starters. Pretty sure you don’t trade that.
The big news was he said that they still intend to add an impact bat either before ST or early on.He downplayed Suarez as they are looking for a contact hitter and said Kwan was not an option as he only played left field. Donovan’s name was not brought up.
you think the time has passed for a Donovan trade with Seattle? They've moved on?
kyace wrote: ↑31 Jan 2026 14:55 pm
Seattle’s GM met the fans at their fan fest this morning and took questions When asked about Sloan he said they anticipate him to be eventually better than any starter they have now. High praise considering their current starters. Pretty sure you don’t trade that.
The big news was he said that they still intend to add an impact bat either before ST or early on.He downplayed Suarez as they are looking for a contact hitter and said Kwan was not an option as he only played left field. Donovan’s name was not brought up.
Thanks for passing this on.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. As I understand it, they don’t want to part with talent on their MLB roster. Trying to win now. Also, don’t want to part with their top 2 MILB arms in Anderson or Sloan. Unlikely to deal their 2 best MILB bats in Emerson or Montes.
Can they get that hitter for some combination of Arroyo or Cijntje? That is, assuming they are on the table.
kyace wrote: ↑31 Jan 2026 14:55 pm
Seattle’s GM met the fans at their fan fest this morning and took questions When asked about Sloan he said they anticipate him to be eventually better than any starter they have now. High praise considering their current starters. Pretty sure you don’t trade that.
The big news was he said that they still intend to add an impact bat either before ST or early on.He downplayed Suarez as they are looking for a contact hitter and said Kwan was not an option as he only played left field. Donovan’s name was not brought up.
you think the time has passed for a Donovan trade with Seattle? They've moved on?
I think Donovan is still the most attainable player. Marte or Hoerner would be a good fit but both more costly money and prospect wise. I still think a deal gets done but starting to think a third team may have to get involved to complete the deal.
kyace wrote: ↑31 Jan 2026 14:55 pm
Seattle’s GM met the fans at their fan fest this morning and took questions When asked about Sloan he said they anticipate him to be eventually better than any starter they have now. High praise considering their current starters. Pretty sure you don’t trade that.
The big news was he said that they still intend to add an impact bat either before ST or early on.He downplayed Suarez as they are looking for a contact hitter and said Kwan was not an option as he only played left field. Donovan’s name was not brought up.
Interesting on Sloan. Above I mentioned a trade of Donovan and Dobbins for Sloan and Arroyo as the BTVs line up pretty good. The Mariners have three high end SP prospects and then a pretty steep drop off. They also have a really high end overall minor league system. But, it sounds like there is no chance they will move Sloan or Anderson. Fair enough.
Cijntne, the third of these high end SP prospects is also very good, but not quite in the class of the other 2. He probably starts the year in AA and makes it to Memphis. So maybe ready to go in 2027 even if not at the beginning of the year. If the Cards put a Dobbins in the deal, who is BTV 11.4. Cijntje is 12.7. Donovan and Dobbins total 42. I had wanted Sloan and Arroyo for those 2. Cijntje and Arroyo total 30.8, which means Seattle would have to put another guy in the deal. Once you get past their top 10 guys, they have a lot of FV 45 guys, who are decent prospect, but really likely never more than JAG.
Montes is a higher end prospect than Arroyo, but also has a higher liklihood of being a bust. I would be OK for the Cards doing a Donovan plus Dobbins trade for Cijntje and Arroyo trade plus another guy. I think Arroyo will be pretty good. Cijntje I think the switch pitching is quirky and may hold him back. I would rather he focus on being RH and get on with it.
I’m of the opinion now that Donovan isn’t going anywhere. I think Bloom set a very high value on him that other teams didn’t agree with. I’m ok with that. I think you have to see Donovan play everyday to appreciate everything he brings to a team. So, it makes sense that the Cardinals value him higher than other teams might. I look for him to play LF until Nootbaar is healthy. Then, Noot can fill in where there’s an opening. Say, if Walker, or Gorman aren’t hitting a lick!
It would also be pretty easy for Marmol to set up a six player rotation if he had a mind to, but there in lies the problem!
Donovan, Nootbaar, Wetherholt, Winn, Saggese, and Gorman in a six game weekly schedule, could each sit one game and allow them all to stay fresh, but in a set routine. Herrera, Pages, Burleson could be rotated as well at C, DH, and 1st base. Walker, Scott, Church, and/or Torres/Fermin could rotate around in the outfield. Trading Nootbaar, when healthy, would open up more playing time for those outfielders as well.
Hoosier59 wrote: ↑31 Jan 2026 19:10 pm
I’m of the opinion now that Donovan isn’t going anywhere. I think Bloom set a very high value on him that other teams didn’t agree with. I’m ok with that. I think you have to see Donovan play everyday to appreciate everything he brings to a team. So, it makes sense that the Cardinals value him higher than other teams might. I look for him to play LF until Nootbaar is healthy. Then, Noot can fill in where there’s an opening. Say, if Walker, or Gorman aren’t hitting a lick!
It would also be pretty easy for Marmol to set up a six player rotation if he had a mind to, but there in lies the problem!
Donovan, Nootbaar, Wetherholt, Winn, Saggese, and Gorman in a six game weekly schedule, could each sit one game and allow them all to stay fresh, but in a set routine. Herrera, Pages, Burleson could be rotated as well at C, DH, and 1st base. Walker, Scott, Church, and/or Torres/Fermin could rotate around in the outfield. Trading Nootbaar, when healthy, would open up more playing time for those outfielders as well.
kyace wrote: ↑30 Jan 2026 23:19 pm
They just lost their planned #6 starter. Evans had TJ surgery and is out all 2026. They are really thin beyond their starting five. They brought in some pitchers off waivers and minor league free agents to have some depth. Anderson was just drafted and hasn’t played any pro ball yet. Sloan is several years out and so is Cijntje. They had planned on Hancock for the bullpen this year.
This may be a time for the Cards to add a starter to a Donovan deal to get what they want from Seattle. Maybe one of the pitchers they got from Boston could be included or use a third team looking for a catcher or reliever to get a pitcher to include in a deal.
Would the Cards add Mathews to a Seattle deal to get Sloan back? He would give the Mariners a near ready left handed starter that they could throw into the rotation if needed. Sloan fits the Cardinals timeline and would give them a right handed power pitcher with Ace potential. Mathews is closer to the majors but doesn’t have as a high of a ceiling. Mariners could live with that as they have others at the top and Anderson a year or two away. They could use a left handed starter especially one as close as Mathews is to be a middle of the rotation starter.
Pallante or Leahy.
They actually should get a FA
Basset
I'd bet on that rather than a pitcher from the Cardinals.
hey....how about Miles Mikolas?
LOLOLOLOLOLOL
