Brendan Donovan (groin) to start rehab assignment

It’s typically the final step before a position player heads out on a minor league rehab assignment. The Mariners could certainly use Donovan back given their injury issues up and down the roster. The 29-year-old infielder has been battling lingering groin issues pretty much all season, which he believes are tied to last year’s sports hernia surgery. He’s been on the injured list since mid-May due to a groin strain.

It’s going to be more than a 10-day stay. The plan is for him to shut it down for a spell and then return to full activities in two or three weeks. Colt Emerson will serve as the regular third baseman for now, the Mariners confirmed.

It’s the same injury that sidelined him from Apr. 18 to May 8. Donovan had been 6-for-28 with no RBI since returning. Colt Emerson figures to be the Mariners’ primary third baseman for now, and the Mariners won’t have to make any big decisions regarding Donovan or J.P. Crawford until Donovan returns.

He isn’t currently in Sunday night’s lineup, and neither is Brendan Donovan. The 20-year-old Emerson was hitting .255/.347/.469 with seven homers and 10 steals in 38 games for Tacoma. 33 of his 38 starts had come at shortstop, with the rest at third base, so it will be interesting to see if the Mariners give him a chance to displace J.P. Crawford. For now, with Donovan limited, the easy move would be to play him at third most of the time. However, Emerson seems like a clear upgrade defensively at shortstop. Offensively, he might not be quite ready. He was striking out 27 percent of the time in Triple-A, and his exit velocity numbers were pretty average. He’s very likely to turn into a fine regular in time, but those in shallow leagues can probably ignore him for now.

Usually “load management” is a term reserved for NBA players, but for Seattle, it’s about making sure Donovan doesn’t aggravate the groin injury that has seen him miss time already in 2026 and required surgery in 2025. When Donovan has played he’s been effective, but fantasy managers have to be prepared for some absences for the foreseeable future.

Donovan wasn’t the only player scratched, as the Mariners also removed Mitch Garver from Saturday’s lineup. No reason has been given as to why either player was removed, but it’s very likely injury-related. Leo Rivas is now the third baseman, and Jonny Pereda will handle catching duties. There should be an update on both shortly.

Donovan had two at-bats to get the homer he needed for a cycle, but he produced a groundout and a 231-foot flyout. The triple came in his second at-bat and was his first since 2024. He’s batting .278/.396/.468 with three homers in his 96 plate appearances this season.

The Mariners are going to closely monitor Donovan’s workload after missing time this season in an attempt to prevent further groin issues related to last year’s sports hernia surgery. It’ll be Leo Rivas taking over at the hot corner on Wednesday night in his place.

No surprise here as the Mariners are probably going to be cautious with his workload after Donovan returned from the injured list for Friday’s series opener. The 29-year-old infielder went 1-for-5 before being lifted for a defensive replacement in the eighth inning. It’ll be Leo Rivas taking over at the hot corner in this one.

Donovan was back at third base and hitting leadoff on Friday evening following a nearly three-week absence due to a groin strain. The 29-year-old infielder was eventually lifted for a defensive replacement in the eighth inning of the one-sided affair.