Before the holidays, the Twins offered Josh Donaldson a four-year, $84MM contract that would have made him the second-highest paid player in team history after Joe Mauer, writes Phil Miller in a profile well worth a read from the Star Tribune. Another interesting tidbit from Miller confirmed that Zack Wheeler had been the Twins’ primary target at the outset of the offseason, shifting only to Donaldson after missing out on Madison Bumgarner and Hyun-Jin Ryu. Donaldson offered a potent bat, of course, but the ability to improve their infield defense at third (and by effect, their pitching) also keyed the Twins on the Bringer of Rain.
Donaldson and his agent Dan Lozano fielded recruitment efforts from all corners of the Minnesota Twins extended universe before committing, from Miguel Sano over video eagerly offering to accommodate Donaldson by changing positions, to a former tennis professional and friend of Donaldson’s who happens to be a Twins fan, to the substantial recruitment effort put in ink by Twins’ ownership when they offered him a four-year, $92MM contract. The fifth year, $16MM team option helped push the deal over the edge, especially once the Twins’ agreed to set the buyout amount at $8MM. If the option is picked up, the deal becomes a five-year, $100MM pact.
Some of the heaviest lifting was done in a meeting between Donaldson, Lozano, Twins’ manager Rocco Baldelli, General Manager Thad Levine and Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey. Baldelli sold Donaldson on clubhouse culture and his plans for deploying Donaldson. The front office put together metrics on their 2019 success and profiled some of the talent on its way to Minneapolis from the minor leagues, establishing a belief that the Twins will remain in contention throughout Donaldson’s tenure.
Misinformation persisted in the media throughout, with Lozano suspected of leaking the $110MM asking price in the hopes of a team with deep pockets (like the Dodgers) matching the number. It worked, in a way, as the Twins realized Donaldson must not have had the offer he wanted, so they set out with renewed enthusiasm (and more money). Obviously, $100MM turned out to be the magic number.
Someoldguy will be here soon claiming that they are lying and the Twins are cheapskates that never sign anyone.
Those Twins I tell you…bunch of cheapskates.
Couldn’t make you look like a liar.
Donaldson knew the $100M offer was coming when someone in the room banged a trashcan with a bat…
It’s totally fair to point it out. As of now, this signing is the exception – not the norm. Will it become the norm? We hope so. There is little ground for “I told you so” arguments like this until it becomes the norm. And even then, why waste your finger strength except for stroking your ego? We are happy for them to break the old norm of never opening the pocket book on free agents when the window of opportunity is there.
wonder what our Ryu offer was? he seemed attainable.
The article doesn’t mention that. I am curious as well. Ken Rosenthal saidon MLB Network that they offered more than $80 million to MadBum, but I cant find anything on Ryu.
They should have gone all in on Ryu or Bumgardner. Even though they lost Cron and Schoop. Signing another home run hitter should have been on the bottom of the list of things to do.
Well they missed out so they decided to make a splash elsewhere. Its not a bad thing they signed Donaldson and the Angels signed Rendon even though pitching was a need.
Neither are an Ace, Ryu is injured most years. and MadBum was not as good as either Berrios or Odorizzi was last year. Not sure why they needed to go all in on either one.
Sounds like the fifth year and guaranteed $8MM buyout is what ultimately landed Donaldson. I wonder if he will produce enough for the Twins to take the full $16MM option. Either way the Twins got a great player.
I believe he’ll produce enough by the end of the contract to warrant picking up the option. He’ll probably have declined a little in the field by then, but Twins can DH him. He’ll still hit enough to post 3-4 WAR, easy.
He’ll more than likely be a very productive DH by the 4th/5th year. The type that would still warrant a 1yr/16mil contract so I’d imagine they exercise it, barring a bad string of injuries.
That 5th year will only cost them $8mm. If he’s mildly productive in year 4 I’d think it would be a lock.
A lot of things can happen but I wouldn’t put it past him. Baseball means a lot to Donaldson and I think playing as long as possible was the most appealing part of this deal. I think JD has a bright future as a hitting coach after he’s done playing if that is something he would like to do at that time.
Not sure that big contract for someone at Donaldson’s age constitutes winning a “sweepstakes.”
Adrian Beltre was still productive closing in on 40. Sometimes the age thing is overrated.
Well said. The dumb “declining” convo is ignorant at best, especially when Donaldson shows zero sign of decline. Everyone ages differently. He’ll be productive the entire contract. Maybe not worth the entire contract come Year 4-5, but he gets on base ALOT and will continue to.
Injuries are a sign of decline and he has had more injuries the last few years. Just because he is in decline doesn’t mean he won’t be a valuable player. If he declines from 6 WAR to 3 WAR over three next 4 years that is still an above average player.
Oh yeah because out of 100’s of players soo many play until they are 40 and are productive age 37-40… lol few and far between.. not even 5% of players are like that so you have a 95%+ chance of this deal being a flop unless somehow they go to ws with the junk rotation they have… they just wasted 100 mil on something they didn’t need… laughable.
Hmm, how old is Nelson Cruz again?
Well it really depends on the player’s type of game. If you’re signing a 30yr old CF, who relies on his speed and defense, to a 5 year deal; yeah, it’s likely going to be a bad deal as he ages.
Donaldson’s game isn’t built on his legs. He’s a power hitter, that gets on base a lot, and takes excellent care of himself. That type of player does tend to age well. He may not see much 3B, if any, by the 5th year. He’ll be a productive DH though.
The only thing laughable, and I did laugh, was your comment. It was also stupid. Now go wallow back to the hole you came from.
Source? Didn’t think so.
It’s a fact. Donaldson’s body is in decline, and that’s not open to debate, but how much Donaldson will be able to offset his aging body with hard work is open to debate.
Reaction times slow and the body isn’t able to recover from work outs or injuries as quickly as it was. Those are facts, not opinions. Donaldson’s sprint speed has dropped from 27.1 mph in 2016 to 25.8 mph last year. His defensive metrics have already declined from elite to above average. He’s aging. He’s slowing down, and he’s dealing with more injuries which are taking longer to heal than they used to.
It’s virtually unheard of for a 3B to be playing over age 35. Ripkin, Jr. and Beltre did it, but Ripkin Jr. is and Beltre will be a first ballot Hall of Fame player and Donaldson is a potential borderline candidate at best right now.
I don’t think Donaldson is going to drop off a cliff, and really, even a 4 WAR season will be enough to justify his salary. He’s just not that expensive by modern standards so even as Donaldson does decline, the Twins won’t be hamstrung by his contract and his performance will still likely be good enough to ensure he remains in the lineup.
I don’t mean this to sound snide, but how is he dealing with more injuries? He had one bout with calf in Toronto, and has been largely injury free in his career. He collected darn near 600 AB last year in Atlanta. I don’t see this idea that he’s somehow fragile as fact.
Has his speed dropped? Yes, that is fact. That’s not his game though. He doesn’t steal bases. It might turn a double into a single here and there, but I’m sure he was signed for his power, and his presence.
You also can’t really compare Donaldson to Ripken Jr. or Beltre, and say he can’t do what they did because their body of work was stronger to the point. Donaldson bloomed late. Cal took the post every day, from a young age. Beltre had a lot more games too. Their resumes will naturally be stronger.
I do agree he won’t be playing much third, if any, by the end of the contract. 4 WAR is sorta how I see him come year 4 and 5 too, so again, we do seem to be in somewhat of agreement.
Martras – HA HA HA – I love your air tight argument that his sprint speed is lower therefore he’s in decline. GIVE ME A BREAK! As if running to first base helps hit a baseball. The guy proved last year to be both durable and markedly not in decline. 6 war season is ELITE. Keep pretending you know what you’re talking about, we all enjoy the ramblings of a mad man!
Dear Troll (Moneyballer). My argument is far superior to “ha ha ha”
Donaldson had 4 consecutive years with 155+ game seasons.
Then 113 games.
Then 52 games.
He had a great year last year and played across the entire season in 155 games, but he’ll have more aches pains and more frequent injuries as he gets older.
Wow you’re so wise to predict that! Take out 2018 (he was injured lost season) what do you see? A remarkably CONSISTENT PRODUCER! Might wanna just stop commenting, your lunacy is showing and it’s not making you look good!
Source? He had an injury issue last year, but he was fine in previous seasons.
Are you kidding me? Ask any Braves fan if they think they lost out. Same with Nationals fans. Donaldson had plenty of interested suitors! This is a massive get for the Twins!
haha Im glad we didnt resign him to that garbage contract
I’m disappointed we let him walk over a few million bucks. If they’d have gone 4 yrs, and 100m, he’d be a Brave. I don’t think Atlanta needed to do a 5th year. They just needed to be a competitive bid.
Josh Donaldson is a stub. Age is super overrated in our great nation.
STUD?
Welcome back to the AL, Josh.
Braves not getting Donaldson is gonna hurt bad for a while
until the Braves win the division again.
LOL…leave to a Phillies fan to provide comfort, perspective and reason to a Braves fan. You’re a gem, Von.
….And then choke in the playoffs again.
I think . the phillies shock everyone with them adding Girardi as their manager they win the east.
Girardi will improve them, but just from watching the last couple seasons, I don’t see PHI surpassing the Nats in the standings. They have good talent but I just don’t think they’re built as well, even with Rendon leaving.
Far as my Braves go, losing JD and not knowing whether or not we’ll add… Our lineup went from very good to very top heavy and then not much else… Doesn’t look as good when last year’s 5-8 hitters move up a spot. Not comfortable betting they will finish first again yet. Mets should also be good, especially if they land a manager with a clue. Marlins should be a little better (obviously not contending, but improved) which may prevent them from getting beat up as much by everyone else too. The NLE will be fun to watch. Guess that’s all I needed to say.
Donaldson certainly adds to the lineup, but they still need more pitching.
Why? Who ott the is better than Berrios or Odorizzi? Bumgarner isn’t. Ryu can’t stay healthy. Wheeler wasn’t last year. So Cole and Strasburg were the only ones better.
If Donaldson goes out next year and has an injury plagued season it will be a disaster for the Twins.
They bout a lot of eggs in that basket. A contract like that will cripple a team like Minnesota if the guy can’t play for a duration of it. I know he rebounded from his injury in Atlanta but the security is there now.
Also anybody know how Sano projects at first defensively ?
What indication do you have that he wouldn’t be healthy?
Whatever, they won 101 games without him. It won’t be a disaster at all and leave it to a bitter old hag like you to wish for an injury. Twins in 2020!
With luck on their side and in the worst division in baseball history and probably some career years thrown in.
How does security lead to injury? You’ve lost me. Donaldson will be fantastic in Minnesota. The Braves just blew it because they had to dig in over a few million bucks.
So he has security and you think that equates to getting hurt? You are serious?
There is something to be said about ‘late bloomers’. Donalson fits that catogory to a T!
Twins will regret this once they learn about Donaldy’s shirt buzzers.
Don’t….be….ridiculous.
You’ll see.
Going to need pitching, front office clowns have failed miserably to get some. It’s nice that we got Donaldson, but he can’t pitch.
If the Twins are interested in a power arm like Wheeler, why not just trade for Eovaldi??
I’m probably one of the few people that doesn’t like this signing for the Twins. Donaldson has chronic calf problems, he has abnormally large calf muscles which have plagued him with problems for the last few years. I’m just not a firm believer that someone with his type of ailment will be able to thrive in such a cold environment such as Minnesota. He’s 34 years old, you don’t just magically heal quicker at that age. To me it’s not about production, if he’s healthy he’ll produce. My concern is just how healthy he’ll be playing somewhere soo cold.
He chose this
Come-onnnnn. He’s 34 not 45.
Steelebravenotion? You sound like some old Eastern European grandmother telling her grandchildren about all the ‘bad’ things might happen. We have fairy tales enough.
Try to be positive for the ‘children’.
Sano will take some time to be par.
They REALLY needed to sign Wheeler. Not getting him was a huge blow to the Twins this year.