Mariners utilityman Brendan Donovan left last night’s game with an apparent leg injury in the seventh inning. Facing Angels left-hander Reid Detmers, Donovan hit a grounder to second base that he attempted to beat out for an infield hit. He landed awkwardly on the bag with his left leg, and he was replaced by Leo Rivas on defense in the bottom half of the inning. Donovan has soreness in his groin region, per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times. Divish added in a separate post that imaging came back clean.
Donovan has gotten off to a hot start in 2026, batting .370/.485/.667 across his first 33 plate appearances. Defensively, he has played all eight of his games at third base, though he’ll inevitably spend time around the diamond as the season goes on. The club recently signed infield prospect Colt Emerson to a record extension, and they will reportedly play him at third base when he gets called up. That said, the club immediately optioned him after signing the deal, so he can get more seasoning in the upper minors. A short-term Donovan absence wouldn’t change that plan, leaving Rivas as the likeliest candidate to fill in if needed.
A few other updates from around the division:
- Emerson’s extension happens to align with the end of shortstop J.P. Crawford‘s contract. The veteran is in the final year of the five-year, $51MM extension he inked in 2022. Crawford missed the first week of the season with a shoulder injury. Seattle did not opt to give Emerson the role while Crawford was sidelined, but he appears to be the heir apparent at the position. The incumbent is taking it in stride, though. “I congratulated him, wishing him nothing but the best,” Crawford told Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. “And he’s going to come up here and help us win ballgames. And that’s what we want at the end of the day, is to go win the World Series — and he will for sure help us do that. So I can’t wait to get him up here.” Crawford seemed to acknowledge his impending departure, calling 2026 the biggest year of his career.”I have the chance to make some money if I play well, and we’ll see what happens after that.”
- Angels reliever Ben Joyce is currently on the mend from May 2025 shoulder surgery, and Jack Janes of The Sporting Tribune reports that Joyce is throwing normal bullpen sessions without issue. However, it is unknown when he will start facing live hitters. Joyce is well known for his triple-digit fastball velocity, but his impact in the majors has been limited by injuries. The 2022 third-round draft pick has thrown 49 big-league innings from 2023-25 with a 3.12 ERA, a 21.0% strikeout rate, and an 11.4% walk rate. He had a 2.08 ERA and a massive 58.9% groundball rate in 2024, but he was less impressive in limited samples in the other two years. Joyce is expected back relatively early in the season, though he’ll need a rehab assignment after such a long layoff.
- Astros reliever Enyel De Los Santos is nearing a big-league return. The right-hander made consecutive Double-A appearances on Thursday and Friday. Manager Joe Espada called De Los Santos “close” to rejoining the Astros, relayed by Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. As Kawahara notes, getting De Los Santos back in the mix could create a difficult roster decision for Houston. Cody Bolton and Roddery Munoz are out of options. Bryan King, Ryan Weiss, Kai-Wei Teng, Steven Okert, and AJ Blubaugh are off to solid starts. Bryan Abreu obviously isn’t going anywhere. De Los Santos himself is out of options. The Astros also plan to go with a six-man rotation soon, which would trim down another reliever. That tweak could be Weiss moving into the rotation.
Photo courtesy of Arianna Grainey, Imagn Images
Could be. I think Arrighetti is the 6th man. Good we can get rid of Munoz ASAP
Well if Donovan is injured Patrick Wisdom has been absolutely raking in AAA can’t hurt to give him a shot.
Ironically Donovan and Wisdom are both Cardinals cast off players!!! Which goes to show the Cardinals Front Office didn’t know Real Talent when they had it!! That goes for Edman, Arrozarenia (sp), who both won MVP Playoff awards after they were traded, and several other young players who became stars that were cast off by Mozeliak over the past 10 years.
Now —— is Bloom going to be better??? Or Worse???
Uhm. Wisdom had one good year – with the Cubs.
He actually had 3 good years with the cubs batting 118, 100, 112 OPS+
He cratered his final year 75 OPS+
But finished 5 years in the Windy City with an OPS+ of 104 with a .208/.290/.462 stat line
At worst he could be a platoon bat with Rivas at 3B but he’s a career .737 OPS vs righties and .777 OPS vs lefties so as a back up option you could do worse
What are you talking about? Donovan wasn’t a cast off at all…he’s too old for the rebuild and we have a lot of young guys that play the same positions as him. And Bloom traded him, not Mo. Edman was redundant and we needed pitching.
Didn’t we get Libertore for Arozarena?
Your argument would have been better if you highlighted Alcantara, Gallen, or Adolis
Cardinals drafted both Donovan and Wisdom, so the Cardinals recognized Some – if not Real – talent. They just have not been good at developing that talent.
We shall see how Bloom fares.
I grew up a Cardinal fan, so I hope he has good success.
Remember its the Pacific Coast League. Every batter can go thru two week stretches where they look like Babe Ruth at the dish.
Wisdom isn’t on the 40 and he’s still a K-machine. Far more likely they’d simply recall Bliss if necessary and utilize Rivas at third if Donovan hit’s the IL. He’s day-to-day, though. I don’t think he’s likely going to the IL.
I’m no genius, but it seems to me that Roddery Munoz is not and has never been good at the major league level.
Love JP on the field. But “I have the chance to make some money…”? He’s on the last year of a $50 million deal. C’mon man.
He’s lowkey been really good for Seattle. 2.7WAR-5.2 WAR seasons with 107 OPS+ with okay defense at SS from 21-25. He probably won’t get a big long term deal but he’s in QO territory. Quality SS are hard to find on the open market. HSK, who’s barely played the last few years is getting $20m/year because teams still think he can play there when he’s healthy
Nobody’s talking about the QO, ohyeaydam, but you’re absolutely right. If healthy and productive, and without significant defensive decline, he should be a QO recipient if an extension can’t be reached.
It’s easy to see the Dodgers or Rays being interested and moving him to 2B if Seattle doesn’t bring him back,
I think you’re reading into that comment too much, Zippy. He’s always been a team-first player and leader both on & off the field.
It wouldn’t be wise for him to suggest he’ll ask for an extension ‘hat in hand’, especially considering the first extension was very team-friendly.
@Steve Never mind that. JP is still standing on the field at Angel Stadium. He ca’t believe Adell took away a potential GW HR away from him. The 3rd one of the game.
It was so nice to see Adell playing with some passion for a change.
It was incredible to watch a game where the only run scored was on a leadoff HR in the 1st inning.
I don’t get it. Are you suggesting he’s selfish because he watched to see if it would hook could and was then surprised to see it caught?
Gotta love autocorrect…
could = foul
What’s going on with Gilbert? Adcock for opening day pitcher? Never know do ya.