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Minor MLB Transactions: 9/5/18

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We’ll track Wednesday’s moves from around the league here…

  • After recently being designated for assignment, lefty Danny Coulombe was outrighted today by the Athletics. The 28-year-old has generated 9.9 K/9 on the year, while generating a strong 13.5% swinging-strike rate, but has also allowed 4.2 walks and 1.9 home runs per nine innings. He has surrendered a dozen earned runs in his 23 2/3 frames, but the more concerning number is the batting line posted this year by opposing southpaw hitters: .317/.364/.512.

Earlier Moves

  • The Mariners announced that right-hander Rob Whalen has been outrighted off the 40-man roster following his DFA on Saturday. The 24-year-old tossed four shutout innings for the Mariners this season but carries an ugly 5.16 ERA with 8.3 K/9, 3.4 BB/9 and 0.45 HR/9 in 99 1/3 innings with Seattle’s Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma. The former Mets/Braves farmhand has a career 5.75 ERA in 36 big league innings.
  • The Phillies announced that infielder Jesmuel Valentin has cleared waivers after being designated for assignment and been sent outright to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 24-year-old switch-hitter managed just a .177/.258/.304 slash through 89 plate appearances in the Majors this season and turned in a fairly underwhelming .240/.346/.341 slash in Triple-A prior to being removed from the 40-man roster. Valentin’s bat has wilted as he’s climbed the minor league ranks and faced more advanced competition, and he’s not considered a strong enough defender up the middle to be a glove-first utility option.
  • Right-hander Evan Marshall has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus by the Indians, the team announced. Marshall threw well in 24 Triple-A innings this season (1.13 ERA, 21-to-3 K/BB ratio, 66.2 percent grounder rate) and picked up nine punchouts with a 56.5 percent ground-ball rate in the big league ’pen. He missed time earlier in the year with a right elbow issue, though, and has been hampered by numerous other issues in the past — most notably a terrifying, near-fatal skull fracture suffered in 2015 when he was struck in the head by a line-drive comebacker while pitching for the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A affiliate. If he doesn’t return to the Majors this season, the 28-year-old should find plenty of interest as a minor league free agent over the winter, given his strong showing in Triple-A and a lengthy track record of inducing grounders (55.9 percent in 92 2/3 MLB innings) and missing bats (career 12.5 percent swinging-strike rate).

Blue Jays Will Reportedly Acquire Julian Merryweather As PTBNL In Josh Donaldson Trade

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The Blue Jays will acquire right-hander Julian Merryweather as the player to be named later in the Josh Donaldson trade, tweets Fancred’s Jon Heyman. Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com tweeted at the time of the deal that Merryweather “was rumored” to eventually be Toronto-bound, while Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweeted more recently that Merryweather “is expected” to eventually be announced as the PTBNL.

An official announcement doesn’t seem likely to happen until after the season. The 26-year-old Merryweather underwent Tommy John surgery during Spring Training and has spent the season on the minor league disabled list. Because he’s not healthy enough to begin a rehab assignment, he won’t be passed through waivers before the end of the season, so it seems that a formal announcement could yet be more than a month away.

Prior to the 2018 season, Baseball America ranked Merryweather 17th among Indians farmhands, praising a fastball that reaches 97 mph with regularity, an above-average but inconsistent changeup and another pair of potentially average breaking pitches (slider, curve).

Merryweather breezed through Double-A last year as a 25-year-old, pitching to a 3.38 ERA with a 52-to-10 K/BB ratio and a 48.9 percent ground-ball rate in 50 2/3 innings. He was too homer-prone in a later stint at Triple-A, leading to a 6.58 ERA, but his K/BB numbers and ground-ball tendencies remained strong. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote shortly after his promotion to Triple-A last year that both his changeup and curveball could be plus offerings, calling Merryweather a potential mid-rotation starter.

While the Blue Jays will assuredly exercise caution when working Merryweather back from Tommy John surgery next spring, he’ll give the team an arm that could help either in the bullpen or in the rotation as soon as next summer. And, because Merryweather didn’t spent the 2018 season on the Major League disabled list, he didn’t accrue any MLB service time and will thus remain controllable through at least the 2024 season — if not the 2025 campaign.

That proximity to the Majors, it seems, was enough for the Jays to deem Merryweather a more appealing and more valuable piece than the draft pick they’d have received upon extending a qualifying offer to Donaldson and allowing him to test free agency. (Indeed, GM Ross Atkins told Sportsnet’s Arash Madani that the PTBNL is someone the organization considers to be an “exciting upper-level talent.”) It’s also possible, perhaps even likely, that the team simply didn’t feel comfortable making that type of offer to Donaldson on the heels of his injury-ruined season — especially with wunderkind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. waiting in the wings to hold down third base for the foreseeable future.

Indians Select Brandon Barnes, Adam Rosales

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The Indians announced that they’ve selected the contracts of outfielder Brandon Barnes and infielder Adam Rosales from Triple-A Columbus. To open roster space for the pair of veterans, outfielder Tyler Naquin and right-hander James Hoyt were placed on the 60-day DL. (Hoyt was first recalled from Triple-A before that move to the big league DL.)

Barnes, 32, hasn’t been in the Majors since a 2016 run with the Rockies but has enjoyed a very nice season in Triple-A, making the International League All-Star team and hitting .273/.347/.444 with 14 homers and 19 steals through 566 plate appearances.

Barnes has never hit much in the Majors but, at his best, was capable of providing significant value at all three outfield spots and on the basepaths. He’ll add another name to the Indians’ piecemeal approach to patching over an injury-ravaged outfield mix that also features Melky Cabrera, Greg Allen, Rajai Davis, Brandon Guyer and Michael Brantley (with Jason Kipnis potentially headed there as well once Josh Donaldson is healthy).

Rosales, 35, has now appeared in the Majors in each season since 2008, though he’s never topped last season’s total of 312 plate appearances. He’s a career .227/.292/.365 hitter who has played all four infield positions and both outfield corners. Like Barnes, he’s a right-handed bat, and while he’s had more success against lefties throughout his career, Rosales’ year-to-year results have been highly inconsistent. He batted .239/.313/.445 with 18 homers and roughly even platoon splits in 428 Triple-A plate appearances this season.

Indians Place Josh Donaldson On 10-Day DL

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11:13am: The Indians have announced the move. Donaldson will begin a rehab stint with Triple-A Columbus on Monday.

10:35am: The Indians are planning to place just-acquired third baseman Josh Donaldson on the 10-day disabled list, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The move, which is retroactive to Sept. 1, will enable the injured Donaldson to go on a rehab assignment as he continues working his way back from a strained calf.

Cleveland landed Donaldson in a trade with Toronto last week, though the Tribe knew then that it was unclear when Donaldson would be able to make an impact at the major league level. Donaldson’s calf injury has kept him off a big league diamond since the end of May, and as Rosenthal notes, he has only played 11 minor league innings over the past three months. Nevertheless, the Indians were confident enough in Donaldson’s health to take a gamble on the former MVP at the waiver trade deadline.

The Indians are paying Donaldson just $1.3MM of his remaining $4MM salary. Aside from that money, adding Donaldson will only cost the Indians a player to be named later, albeit one “with some value,” as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reported at the time of the deal. The hope for Cleveland is that it’ll catch lightning in a bottle with Donaldson, who was an elite player from 2013-17, as it heads toward the playoffs.

Assuming Donaldson does return to the majors this year, he’ll bump AL MVP candidate Jose Ramirez from third to second, thus sending second baseman Jason Kipnis to the outfield. In the process, Donaldson will try to rebuild some of his stock as he nears a trip to free agency in the offseason, when he won’t be saddled with a qualifying offer.

Reactions To Josh Donaldson Trade

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It’s expected that Indians right-hander Julian Merryweather will be the player they eventually send to the Blue Jays to complete this week’s Josh Donaldson trade, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports. There’s plenty of time for a resolution here, as the sides have until Jan. 30, 2019, to determine the PTBNL. If it proves to be Merryweather, Toronto will be getting a soon-to-be 27-year-old who does not rank among the Indians’ top 30 prospects at MLB.com right now – likely because he underwent Tommy John surgery in March and hasn’t pitched this season. Merryweather did rank as the Tribe’s 16th-best farmhand at MLB.com after last season.

  • Like Merryweather, Donaldson has endured an injury-ravaged 2018. Calf problems have kept the third baseman out since the end of May, and Indians president Chris Antonetti said Sunday that it remains unclear when he’ll debut with his new team (via Davidi). It’s possible the Indians will place Donaldson back on the 10-day disabled list and have him join one of their minor league affiliates for a rehab assignment, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal says (video link). Meanwhile, they’ll prepare third baseman Jose Ramirez to play second base and second baseman Jason Kipnis to head to the outfield. Ramirez – who’s having an MVP-caliber season – does not want to constantly toggle between second and third, per Rosenthal, so Cleveland will have to be certain Donaldson’s healthy before inserting him into its lineup.
  • The Blue Jays didn’t commit to trading Donaldson until “late in the day” on Aug. 31, the waiver deadline, general manager Ross Atkins tells Arash Madani of Sportsnet (video link). Asked why the Jays didn’t simply keep Donaldson and issue the pending free agent an ~$18MM qualifying offer after the season, Atkins suggested the player they’ll receive for him is more useful than the pick they’d have gotten had Donaldson rejected the QO. Atkins believes the player’s “an exciting upper-level talent” who will have a near-future impact in the majors.
  • Donaldson grew into a leader as a Blue Jay and wanted to sign a long-term pact with the team, but the feeling wasn’t necessarily mutual, John Lott of The Athletic explains (subscription required). While Donaldson and the Jays discussed an extension last offseason, the team’s offer was “significantly” lower than Donaldson’s asking price – particularly with respect to contract length – Lott reports. Still, despite whatever issues he may have had with the franchise, Donaldson didn’t want to be traded, according to Lott.

Heyman: Indians Were Main Players For Bryce Harper At Non-Waiver Deadline

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Dodgers pending free agent Manny Machado has made it known he prefers shortstop, but the former Baltimore third baseman would return to the hot corner “for the right team,” Jon Heyman of Fancred writes. A willingness to play third certainly won’t hurt Machado on the open market, where he’s expected to sign one of the richest contracts ever, as it could encourage more teams to get involved in the bidding. Machado prefers to sign with the Yankees, Heyman relays, which jibes with a previous report from Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The Yankees already have an excellent shortstop in Didi Gregorius and a big-hitting rookie third basemen in Miguel Andujar, but their presences didn’t prevent the team from pursuing Machado at this year’s non-waiver trade deadline. Gregorius is only under contract for another year, moreover, while Machado is a much better defender at third than Andujar. Speculatively, if the Yankees sign Machado and extend Gregorius, perhaps they’d move Andujar to first base (where they haven’t gotten much production this year) or use him as trade bait to acquire pitching.

More rumblings from Heyman…

  • The Indians were the most aggressive pursuers of Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper at the non-waiver trade deadline in July, according to Heyman. However, the Indians were unwilling to trade high-end pitching prospect Triston McKenzie for Harper – who’ll be a free agent at season’s end – and general manager Mike Rizzo didn’t want to deal Harper anyhow. Expectations are that the Rizzo-led Nats will do their best to re-sign Harper, Heyman suggests.
  • There isn’t much optimism around baseball that the Marlins will be able to extend star catcher J.T. Realmuto, reports Heyman, who writes that he “apparently remains a target” of the NL East rival Braves. Atlanta extended catcher Tyler Flowers earlier this week, but only for a guaranteed $6MM over two years. Realmuto is also controllable for the next two seasons, and given that the Marlins won’t contend during that span, it seems like a strong bet that they’ll trade the 27-year-old if they’re unable to extend him.
  • Twins icon and pending free agent Joe Mauer is uninterested in playing elsewhere, per Heyman, who adds that it’s believed Minnesota would welcome the first baseman back in 2019. The question is whether the St. Paul native will choose to play next year, which would be his age-36 season. Mauer’s now in the final weeks of the franchise-record eight-year, $184MM extension he signed as a superstar catcher in 2010. The deal hasn’t quite worked out as hoped, though, thanks in part to injuries and a decline in production. Mauer has posted league-average offensive numbers over 444 PAs this year, with a .278/.350/.379 line (99 wRC+).
  • The Brewers finished second to the NL Central rival Cardinals in the race to sign then-free agent Miles Mikolas last winter, Heyman reports. A former Ranger and Padre, Mikolas returned stateside after a couple seasons in Japan, joining the Cardinals on a two-year, $15.5MM guarantee. That contract has been a steal for St. Louis, which has seen the 30-year-old Mikolas turn in 167 innings of 2.96 ERA/3.43 FIP ball this season.

September Call-Ups: 9/1/18

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A few call-ups were announced yesterday, but we’re likely to see far more prospect promotions and even contract selections take place today as rosters expand. We’ll use this post to keep track of those moves…

  • The Marlins selected the contract of righty starter Jeff Brigham today; he’ll be among those playing in the majors for the first time ever. Brigham’s solid 3.44 ERA in Triple-A this season is muddied a bit by his 4.45 FIP, but he’s maintained solid ratios. Brigham’s 8.25 K/9 and brilliant 2.24 BB/9 give him a solid 3.69 K/BB ratio that probably looks quite nice to a Marlins club that’s hurting for serviceable major league starters. Miami has also recalled right-handers Sandy Alcantara and Nick Wittgren along with catcher Chad Wallach.
  • The Athletics selected several contracts today, including that of catching prospect Beau Taylor. The lefty-hitting backstop has never played in the majors, but he’s done well for himself at the Triple-A level this season by drawing walks in 14% of his plate appearances while hitting .248. He’s even chipped in a pair of stolen bases. The biggest knock on Taylor is his lack of power; the 28-year-old owns a sub-.100 ISO and has never hit more than eight homers in a given season. Other contracts selected by the Astros today include those of lefty Dean Kiekhefer and righties Chris Hatcher and Liam Hendriks. The A’s recalled lefty Daniel Coulombe and shortstop Franklin Barreto as well.  
  • The Indians selected the contract of right-hander Jon Edwards today, who hasn’t pitched in the major leagues since 2015. The 30-year-old Edwards has done well for himself in the Tribe’s minor league system in 2018, though, racking up 56 strikeouts in just 39 1/3 innings while pitching to a 3.64 ERA. Though he’s exhibited extreme control issues in the past, his 2.70 BB/9 in 30 innings with Triple-A Columbus suggests there’s a possibility he’s put those problems behind him. The Tribe promoted catcher Eric Haase to the majors alongside him.

Earlier…

  • The Mariners have selected the contract of Justin Grimm among their September moves, whom they signed to a minor league contract on July 25th. Grimm’s been plagued by shoulder and back issues all season and struggled to a cataclysmic 13.50 ERA in 12 2/3 innings for the Royals earlier this season, which led to his release early on in the summer. With the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate, though, he’s put up a pristine 1.64 ERA and an even more impressive 13.91 K/9 mark. In addition to Grimm, Seattle also selected the contract of Kristopher Negron, and recalled right-handers Chasen Bradford and Ryan Cook, lefty James Pazos, catcher David Freitas.
  • The Nationals have selected the contract of right-hander Austen Williams, who’ll be getting his first MLB cup of coffee this September. He’s been quite impressive in the upper minors this season, including a 0.55 ERA in 16 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. That’s backed up by excellent peripherals, including 20 strikeouts against just four walks. Williams had pitched exclusively as a starter until this season, and it appears a transition to a relief role has catapulted him to a status as an incredibly intriguing talent. The Nats also recalled catcher Pedro Severino to fill in while Wieters is dealing with a hip/groin injury (per Jamal Collier of MLB.com).
  • The White Sox promoted Caleb Frare to get his first taste of the bigs; as James Fegan of The Athletic points out, he needed to be added to the 40-man roster in order to be protected from the coming winter’s Rule 5 Draft. They’ve good reason to do so, as the lefty reliever has thrived with the organization ever since being acquired from the Yankees a month ago in exchange for $1.5MM in international bonus pool funds. He’s put up fantastic numbers in 12 2/3 innings at Triple-A Charlotte, including a 0.71 ERA and 13.50 K/9. Aaron Bummer will join him as the other White Sox player to receive a September promotion so far.
  • The Royals have selected the contract of catcher Meibrys Viloria to account for the hole left by Drew Butera, who was traded to the Rockies yesterday. Fascinatingly, Kansas City decided to promote the 21-year-old Columbia native even though he’s never played above the High-A level. He’s done just fine there, though, batting .260/.342/.360 in 407 plate appearances over the course of 2018. Viriola is expected to maje his MLB debut as early as this week while mainstay catcher Salvador Perez deals with a sprained thumb.
  • After a short stay in the minors, righty reliever Ray Black is back up with the Giants. He’s had a poor showing in the majors so far, allowing ten earned runs in 15 1/3 innings. He did manage to strike out 22 batters in that span, though, and owns a 2.11 FIP in 25 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season. His blistering 16.13 K/9 at that level perhaps speaks to his potential even more.
  • The Cardinals recalled catcher Carson Kelly today, who’s widely considered to be the club’s catcher of the future once Yadier Molina’s contract is complete. However, he’s yet to prove his worth at the major-league level, as evidenced by his .150/.216/.187 batting line across 118 MLB plate appearances. The Redbirds have also called up lefty Tyler Webb and righty Daniel Poncedeleon.
  • The Phillies have opted to recall outfielder Aaron Altherr, who’d largely been a fixture in the club’s major-league outfield for the past two seasons prior to a late-July demotion. While his 13.3% walk rate so far this season was downright fantastic, that was about the only aspect of Altherr’s performance to be happy about; he was striking out at a 32.7% clip while hitting just .171 and slugging just .305. Philadelphia also added outfielder Dylan Cozens and righty reliever Yacksel Rios to their active roster.
  • The Yankees are set to give right-hander Stephen Tarpley his first taste of major-league action after selecting his contract earlier today. Tarpley is quite an interesting arm-he’s been utilized as a multi-inning reliever at two levels of the minors this year, and to great effect. Most recently, he’s pitched to a 2.65 ERA and 10.06 K/9 across 17 appearances spanning 34 innings at Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre. Infielder Tyler Wade and right-hander Luis Cessa will also join the MLB club as rosters expand.
  • The Mets will give righty Eric Hanhold his first taste of major-league action, MLBTR has learned. Acquired in the 2017 trade that sent Neil Walker to the Brewers, Hanhold has apparently been quite unlucky to own his 7.11 ERA at Triple-A this season. Rather, his 3.43 FIP in 19 innings at that level produces some level of optimism that he can serve as a quality reliever in the majors. A .429 BABIP and 2.86 K/BB ratio further strengthen that case.
  • The Reds are set to give shortstop prospect Blake Trahan a September call-up, as C. Trent Rosencrans of The Athletic was among those to tweet. Trahan came to the Reds by way of the club’s third-round draft pick back in 2015. He did not rank amongst MLB Pipeline’s top 30 Reds prospects in the publication’s most recent rankings, though Fangraphs ranks him 24th in that regard thanks to a 55 speed tool and a 60-grade arm. He’s also likely to be a league-average shortstop. That’s about all there is to like about Trahan at present, as he’s only hit .245/.327/.302 at the minors’ highest level.
  • The Reds have also recalled Lucas Sims, who arrived in Cincinnati just prior to the non-waiver trade deadline as part of the package in exchange for sending Adam Duvall to Atlanta. Sims owns a 5.96 ERA and 7.15 K/9 in a Braves uniform, but his minors track record indicates he might have better days yet to come; the righty has managed to strike out at least ten batters per nine innings at every level of the minors post-Rookie ball, and has a sub-4.00 MiLB ERA in each of the past two seasons.
  • The Twins will promote right-hander Zach Littell, according to Darren Wolfson of KSTP. Littell has but 3 1/3 innings of MLB experience, during which time he allowed seven earned runs with one strikeout en route to a demotion. His 3.57 ERA at Triple-A this season is far more palatable, albeit unspectacular.
  • The Twins also announced that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Andrew Vasquez, who’ll be receiving his first cup of coffee after pitching to a sub-1.50 ERA out of minor-league bullpens across the past three seasons combined. They’ve also selected catcher Chris Gimenez in addition to recalling outfielder Johnny Field and right-hander Tyler Duffey.
  • The Red Sox have officially recalled five players, including first base/outfield type Sam Travis. After serving as a somewhat serviceable piece in 2017 (.263/.325/.342 batting line), Travis has struggled in limited major-league action this year to the tune of a 45 wRC+ and -0.1 fWAR. Boston has also promoted left-handers Bobby Poyner and Robby Scott, as well as right-hander William Cuevas and infielder Tzu-Wei Lin.
  • The Tigers have recalled right-hander Sandy Baez from Double-A Erie, per a club announcement. Baez made his major-league debut back on June 4th, entering the game in relief during a double-header. He didn’t allow any runs in 4 1/3 innings, though he did walk three batters in that appearance. Aside from that, Baez has never pitched above Double-A, and owns a troublesome 5.64 ERA there on the 2018 season, in part due to command issues.

Indians Designate Evan Marshall

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Amidst a flurry of September 1st moves, the Indians announced that they’ve opted to designated right-hander Evan Marshall for assignment in order to make room for fellow righty Jon Edwards, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Columbus.

Marshall, 28, was part of the Tribe’s infamous early-season bullpen shuffle as the club sorted through a host of relievers in order to find some semblance of stability in a bullpen that was then one of the worst in baseball. Of course, Marshall was more a part of the problem than he was a part of the solution for the Indians, as he allowed six earned runs in seven innings for the MLB club. He also walked a quartet of hitters during that time.

There was a reason the Cleveland organization gave him a look, though. His track record at Triple-A was nearly flawless; Marshall posted a sparkling 2.51 FIP across 24 innings with the Columbus Clippers, with an ERA that came out to less than half that figure. However, they apparently didn’t feel it would be worth the opportunity to allow him to sort things out in the majors during September, and he’ll now be available for another club to take a chance on as active roster allotments expand to 40.

August 31st Trade Deadline Recap

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A flurry of activity came yesterday in advance of the deadline to acquire postseason-eligible players via trade. In case you weren’t able to keep track of it all, here’s a roundup of the swaps made by MLB organizations on August 31st, 2018, sorted by the team on the acquiring end of the major-leaguer involved.

AL West

AL Central

  • The Indians acquired Josh Donaldson from the Blue Jays. Toronto will send $2.7MM to Cleveland as well, and they’ll get back a player to be named later, the quality of which will be dependent upon how Donaldson’s health situation progresses.

AL East

  • The Yankees took Adeiny Hechavarria off the Pirates’ hands in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. It’s not yet known how much cash the Bucs will chip in to help pay the ~$1MM still owed to Hechavarria.
  • The Yankees also pried Andrew McCutchen from the Giants. San Francisco gets infield prospect Abiatal Avelino and right-handed pitching prospect Juan De Paula.

NL West

NL Central

NL East

  • (No trades)

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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