Brendan Donovan has only been able to muster 39 games this season and somehow produced a full season’s worth of medical updates. He was derailed twice by a groin strain. Then, weeks after returning from a two-and-a-half-month absence, a baseball struck him in the head during pregame live batting practice. That sent him to the seven-day concussion IL. 

Some seasons go sideways. Donovan’s has continued to move in different directions, none of them steering him toward the baseball field. 

The Mariners acquired Donovan to help settle their lineup. He has useful traits that should attract any contender. They were especially attractive to the Mariners who needed more reliable at-bats in their lineup.

Brendan Donovan’s Mariners Debut Has Been One Long False Start

We’ve barely gotten the opportunity to see that plan work out. Donovan underwent major sports hernia surgery last October while he was still with the Cardinals. The aftereffects followed him into 2026, bringing hip and groin discomfort that he and the Mariners connected to the procedure. A left groin strain put him on the IL in April. He returned May 8, lasted 10 days and landed right back on the shelf with the same injury.

His second absence stretched into August. The Mariners kept shuffling their infield and waiting for one of their biggest offseason additions to become part of their everyday plans. When he finally returned, there was reason to believe the worst had passed. Donovan told MLB.com that he was playing pain-free for the first time in more than a year.

Who would’ve thought the batting cage was going to be the next thing to put him back on the shelf? A throw got away during live batting practice before the M’s faced the Cubs and struck Donovan in the head. He wasn’t wearing a helmet, which is completely normal. General  manager Justin Hollander called it a “freak accident” and said Donovan had experienced a “year from hell.”

Not sure it could’ve been said any better than that.  The helmet detail deserves attention and should produce safer habits around the cage. But it doesn’t require any sermon. It could’ve happened to anyone. Donovan was taking extra work before a game, one of the most routine acts in baseball. One bad throw turned it into his third IL stint.

As of Monday, Donovan was still experiencing concussion symptoms, although the Mariners said he had improved. His recovery will run on its own clock. The lineup, the standings and all the time he has already lost will not speed it up.

So, what can we honestly make of Donovan’s debut season? Very little beyond the obvious frustration. Thirty-nine scattered games offer no fair read on how well he fits into a Seattle lineup over six months. The only firm conclusion is how quickly a carefully constructed plan can become irrelevant.