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Indians Acquire Josh Donaldson

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The Blue Jays have officially struck a deal to send star third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Indians, as first reported by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links).

The Jays will get a player to be named later “with some value” while covering some of Donaldson’s remaining salary, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer suggests (on Twitter) that the PTBNL will in some manner be dependent upon Donaldson’s health status. Per the announcement, it’ll be determined by January 30th of next year.

There’s also a significant financial component to this swap. Toronto will pay down $2.7MM of the nearly $4MM still owed to Donaldson for the rest of the season, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Cleveland organization has long been cited as a natural landing spot for Donaldson. With the move, it seems likely that the club will plan to move superstar Jose Ramirez to second base, bumping Jason Kipnis into a utility role. Donaldson adds a potentially significant bat to the lineup, while also boosting the outfield mix by freeing Kipnis to spend time there.

Of course, Donaldson will first need to build up to full health. It had seemed increasingly likely in recent days that he would be moved, as he finally began a rehab assignment after months on the disabled list. Shoulder and, more recently, calf troubles have significantly limited Donaldson this season.

By virtue of the mid-season swap, Donaldson cannot be saddled with a qualifying offer when he enters free agency at season’s end. That also means the Jays will receive only the compensation they ultimately receive in this deal for the loss of a player who has been one of the best in baseball in recent years.

Of course, Donaldson has still been well worth the investment for the Toronto organization. He was acquired for a package that felt light at the time and seems hard to fathom in retrospect. And despite earning relatively hefty salaries through arbitration, he easily outperformed his earnings by slashing a robust .285/.387/.559 with 111 home runs in his first three seasons in Toronto.

Today’s trade, ultimately, was the Jays’ effort to make the best of what had turned into a difficult situation. Thus far in 2018, Donaldson has played in only 36 MLB contests. And he’s carrying only a .234/.333/.423 batting line in 159 plate appearances — a productive enough slash, to be sure, but nothing close to his established performance level. Donaldson’s glovework has also continued to slide, though he still drew approximately average grades in the brief sample this season.

With his large salary in the background, it’s easy to understand why Donaldson cleared waivers and was ultimately moved in this fashion. Of course, some have argued the organization should instead have stayed patient in hopes of making Donaldson a qualifying offer at season’s end. That strategy had some merit, to be sure, but also came with plenty of risk and somewhat limited upside.

For the Indians, there were surely many factors to consider as well. It may be that Donaldson’s performance has been limited all along by the same injuries that ultimately forced him to the sidelines. Perhaps there’s reason to hope that his shoulder woes will have been helped by the fact that he just spent months on ice while dealing with his calf problems. Donaldson has a reputation as a fiery competitor, and has every reason to impress before hitting free agency, so the Indians know that they have a highly motivated player.

Still, it’s not hard to spot the risks that come with this move. When the clock strikes midnight, the Cleveland organization won’t be able to look outside for postseason-eligible players. No doubt the team at least considered alternatives to rolling the dice on Donaldson, who only just began his rehab assignment, but perhaps there weren’t any opportunities that held much appeal.

Certainly, there’s no chance that any other players under serious consideration would have come with Donaldson’s established ceiling. And the Indians, unlike some other contenders, really don’t need to worry about getting him on the field in the immediate future. The club is coasting to an AL Central title while preparing its roster for the postseason. It can more or less use the final weeks of the season as an opportunity to make final evaluations and get a few injured players needed reps without wearing anyone down.

The fact that Kipnis will end up moving into a utility job of some kind no doubt also was considered. We know the club wished to have a left-handed-hitting outfielder capable of playing in center, since the team acquired Leonys Martin before losing him for the year. Though Kipnis really hasn’t hit much over the past two seasons, the team still clearly likes him as a ballplayer and has utilized him up the middle in the outfield — including in the 2017 postseason.

It seems, then, that acquiring Donaldson will not only potentially upgrade the Indians’ lineup, but could plug the hole that reopened when Martin went down. Sensible as it all is when plotted out that way, it remains a fascinating gamble on Donaldson’s ability to stay on the field and rediscover his unquestionably lofty talent level.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Comments

      • Braves announced they were out of it. But anything can happen.

      • Kipnis to OF. Maybe others who cleared Waivers from Blue Jays also in it other then Smoak/Morales.

        • Melky Cabrera actually had better splits against both sides than Kipnis & Guyer. Cabrera should just be the regular right fielder

      • 1. SS Lindor
        2. LF Brantley
        3. 2B Ramirez
        4. 3B Donaldson
        5. DH Encarnacion
        6. 1B Alonso
        7. RF Cabrera
        8. C Gomes/Perez
        9. CF Allen

        That looks pretty good. Just need Donaldson at full health

    • Along with Granderson,Estrada and Clippard if he cleared Waivers to. Also losers will try and get Harrison,Zimmerman,Smoak,Morales and so on who have cleared Waivers.

  10. STL Fox Sports commentators stating its not STL. But gesturing is a real thing.

  13. He should be highly motivated to perform. This last month plus could mean tens of millions of dollars difference on his next contract. And he won’t have the qualifying offer attached to worry about.

    1

    • As a cards fan I’m super happy to see the cards on a roll, but mo has gotten super lucky we have gotten hot with a bunch of rookies. He probably feels like hes a genius but it’s been pretty lucky. So now he says we are gonna stand pat and not get anyone else, a typical moz move. Guys the worst. Donaldson would be an upgrade of even a bench bat over Garcia or could be his former self and propel us deep in the playoffs. But no, mo says we are fine with our half hurt, half rookie team. Way to go all out for a championship. I swear he used to be a used car salesman

      • Give it a rest. You may very well be the last Mo-basher standing, as all of the other haters have crawled into a hole because theyre so embarrassed that they were wrong once again. Of course youre obviously fine with forking over 4 mil plus a prospect for a guy who has barely played all year.

        1

        • Mozeliak will probably go Fowler redux: pass on acquiring the guy when he was eminently affordable and non-albatrossy (yeah 4 mil plus a prospect is a disasterously high acquisition cost) and wait for him to have a good playoffs and see his price skyrocket, and then acquire him to a beyond-bloated contract for his obvious-to-everyone decline years.

          1

        • I’m not forking anything over but about 80 bucks for seats. It’s not my money. But I know I’m not the last mo basher. If you want to drink his kool aid go ahead, the guys gotten super lucky with the product on the field. I love watching the young guys play their butts off and the future is bright, but this isnt a championship team. You have to take chances sometimes and I dont see the harm in going after Donaldson who they have been linked to for like 2 years. Look what Hamels and murphys done for the Cubs. Embarrassed? Nobody is embarrassed. The teams over performed beyond expectations. Half the team is hurt, and alot of our big signings have failed. If your cool with the team continually having to count on unproven youngsters and matt carpenter, I’ll just tell you, I’d be amazed if it lasts. I hope it does, but if you think mo has done a good job you’ve lost your mind.

        • Well I guess I’ve lost my mind. We’ll see how Donaldson performs

  15. I’m hearing Marlins. With 100/million plus contract extension to be announced shortly after.

    3

    • I hope the marlins Haha would live to see the marlins pick up someone after getting rid of everyone

    • And then traded immediately for pennies on the dollar, right before midnight

      2

    • Only to be traded to the A’s at the winter meetings.

      2

  18. Someone alert Jimmertee — by some impossibility, his guarantee of JD getting a Q.O. was incorrect. #ScoutsEyesFailing

    4

  20. Brewers have a monopoly on 3rd base market… gotta think it’s them!

    7

    • They just got Gio earlier. My guess is he is either the new 3B or 2B, and Donaldson will be brought in to shore up the pen.

      2

      • So dumb. “ I’m going to recycle a post used 1,000 times and hope everyone thinks I’m clever”. Bunch of lemmings on this page.

        1

    • None of these make any sense. Donaldson came up as a catcher, so the Brewers could put him back behind the plate and have Kratz play third.

      2

  23. Way to be out in-front of that Passan.

    “BREAKING NEWS….Josh Donaldson has been traded!”

    To???

    (silence)

    1

  31. Indians eh. Wonder if we got a few pitching projects/lotto tickets

    Best of luck Donaldson. Hope its Cle vs philly for the WS.

    3

  32. Sunday Sliders of the Nassau County coed softball league!!! The rich got richer

  34. John Heyman reporting that aging catcher Jake Taylor, and veteran RHP Eddie Harris are going back to TOR in the deal.

    3

    • Not necessarily. The Indians could have acquired the pitcher and will convert him to second base.

      No? It only works with Brewers-related players? Never mind.

      3

    • They’ve literally done that for the past three articles that have mentioned him. You’d think they’d figure it out by now.

      1

  38. So after they say CLE is the least likely to acquire him, they end up getting him……

    2

    • Cleveland front office has always been intensely secretive about transactions. Like Martinez last year, Lindor extension (leaked), etc.

      1

  39. Mark Shapiro hired the the Indians President and GM. This was a forgone conclusion.

    1

  41. Made an account just to say the following—> NOT THE YANKEES!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    1

      • Sorry. Seeing the Yankees be involved in literally every rumor is naseauting to put it lightly. I think he’ll play 3rd, Jose to 2nd and Kipnis maybe in the OF.

        • Hey Dick
          The Yankees are involvedvin evrry rumor for 2 solid reasons.
          1, they have room under the cap
          2, they are going to make the playoffs and a move now would allow the player to be eligible.
          Try knowing the game

  42. Toronto probably breathing a sigh of relief. Bet they wanted to save the bucks, maybe get a little something back in return, and not take the risk of a QO. They may think Donaldson has prematurely aged

  43. As a A’s fan I always like Josh Donaldson. Brought up as a Catcher, the Oakland VP GM master Billy Beane decided to try Josh at Third – Eric Chavez had left – and as it turns out JD became a monster of a player! We have Chapman now but boy Donaldson is a heck of a player! It’s a great pick for the Indians!

  44. “While this news seemingly answers the question whether the Toronto organization will trade Donaldson, it had seemed increasingly likely in recent days that he would be moved.”

    Not sure what you’re trying to say here, Jeff. Since you will be editing and adding to this post anyway you might wanna clean this up as well.

    • Seriously?

      He’s saying that Donaldson will be traded and that over the last few days, the possibility of trading Donaldson became much more likely.

      It’s not that hard to figure out

      2

      • “It’s not that hard to figure out.”

        It’s a poorly written sentence in any event, I shouldn’t have to “figure out” what it means. This happens frequently with quickly written breaking news items and has already been cleaned up.

        “Seriously?”

        Yeah, seriously. I took the time to criticize a post by one of the professional writers this site employs; you took the time to criticize a comment by an another relatively anonymous user. Whatever.

  46. Now I kind of wish the Indians had went for Bautista in waivers just so they would have all three of the Bash Triplets from the fun Toronto days.

    1

  47. Lol remember when they weren’t going to trade Donaldson unless they got back someone who would help them more in both 2018 and beyond? Oh how the times have a’changed…

    2

    • i think if they traded him earlier they wouldve gotten something really good back. his injury plagued season really dropped his value. tell me, did you really forecast him to be on the DL the entire season only to make his return to a rehab game hours before the August deadline?

      1

      • No. But I did think the Blue Jays should have cashed out on him in the offseason

  48. Just Shapiro giving his buddies back in CLE a little pat on the butt for the post season. Not necessarily a move in the Jays best interest.

    1

    • I’m sure Shapiro pulled a sneaky somewhere in this deal. Cool pick-up though, I hope he can get healthy because I would love to see him play in Cleveland.

  49. Alex antholopolous not pulling the trigger…why not? the braves need offense badly…

    • because he recognizes how handcuffed his last team was by those deadline deals.

      1

    • It’ possible the Jays didn’t want to send him to AA in Atlanta. A lot of Jays fans miss AA and sending Donaldson there wouldn’t have great optics.

  50. i don’t understand the Braves not pulling the move for Donaldson. they’ve got Adam Duvall sucking it up on the bench, Lucas Duda past his prime sucking up spots on the team. why not infuse this team with life? trade for Donaldson, make him the starting 3rd baseman, move Camargo the starting shortstop and have Dansby take over the beleaguered right handed bench bat the Braves desperately need. I smell ownership all over this not pulling the trigger. do they not want to win a championship? they need offense. bar none. Albies, Freeman and Markakis have all gone cold over the last 2+ weeks.

  52. I have a feeling the return is likely from the 2018 draft class, not eligible to be traded yet.

    • MLB nixed that. Players aren’t allowed to be included as PTBNL in deals made between the draft and WS.

  53. Shapiro and Atkins,If they were any good at what they do,they would still be in Cleveland

    • What a silly comment. Shapiro and Atkins were so good in Cleveland they both obtained significant PROMOTIONS to leave. Get it now?

      1

  54. Donaldson didn,t want to play in Toronto as they are rebuilding and he wanted a chance with a contender.I agree,I hope he gets healthy as his age is against him

  55. My guess is going to be for Elijah Morgan if JD can prove healthy.

  56. Please fire the whole front office of the Blue Jays. I will never again attend a game while these clowns are running this organization. I hate Shapiro and his minions.

  57. Are these players involved in these late trades, eligible to play in the post season?

  58. Are the players involved in these late trades, eligible to play in the post season?

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