Getting Comfortable

The Moves

Brendan Donovan was born in Würzburg, Germany, the second of three children of James and Lisa Donovan. His father was a U.S. Army colonel who flew Blackhawks on multiple overseas deployments. The family moved — Germany, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama — and Donovan learned to get comfortable being uncomfortable. As MLB.com reported, he credits that childhood for making him the kind of player who can fill in at multiple positions. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol praised his diligent pregame routines and purpose-driven work ethic as products of that upbringing.

After relocating near his Alabama roots, Donovan and his wife Aly converted a workshop on their property into a personal training facility they called The Barn — batting cages, artificial turf, a sauna and cold tub. He and Aly handled much of the setup themselves, hanging banners and laying flooring, with a Busch Stadium-style green wall backdrop. Marmol highlighted the project as evidence of Donovan taking full ownership of maximizing his abilities.

St. Louis selected him in the seventh round, 213th overall, out of South Alabama in 2018. He debuted on April 25, 2022, and won the first National League Gold Glove for a utility player that year. Over five seasons he has hit .281 with 103 doubles and 43 home runs. An All-Star selection came in 2025. Before the 2026 season, the Cardinals traded him to Seattle in a three-team deal that also involved Tampa Bay.

Five Hundred

Donovan crossed 500 career hits on March 26. As AL.com reported, South Alabama coach Mark Calvi described Donovan as a lightly recruited, hard-nosed kid who earned everything through persistence — and who remains the same self-made leader years later. Donovan married Aly in 2022 and they welcomed a daughter in March 2024. Calvi emphasized that Donovan's greatest qualities are being a strong husband and father, beyond the All-Star selection and the big-league career, and predicted he would become a clubhouse presence and mentor for younger players with the Mariners.

At 29, he plays third base for Seattle, with 34 hits in 37 games this season.

Reporting: MLB.com, AL.com, Wikipedia, University of South Alabama Athletics. Career and biographical data: MLB StatsAPI, via the Fever engine.