Third baseman Josh Donaldson introduced his retirement immediately on The Mayor’s Workplace (YouTube hyperlink). Again in November, he expressed an openness to taking part in yet another yr beneath the appropriate circumstances, nevertheless it now appears the Bringer of Rain has determined it’s time to hold up his spikes.
Donaldson, now 38, took a winding path to the most important leagues and was a late bloomer, however he nonetheless reached unbelievable heights as a giant leaguer as soon as all the pieces aligned.
Whereas taking part in third base at Auburn College, he started to learn to catch. The Cubs then chosen him as a catcher with the forty eighth total choose within the 2007 draft. In July of 2008, he was traded to the Athletics, considered one of 4 gamers going to Oakland in change for Wealthy Harden and Chad Gaudin.
As he climbed the minor league ladder together with his new membership, his bat was thought-about forward of his glove, an comprehensible state of affairs on condition that he was comparatively new to catching. He made his main league debut in 2010 however hit simply .156/.206/.281 in his first 34 plate appearances.
He was caught within the minors in 2011 after which spent 2012 being shuttled between the majors and the minors, step by step spending extra time at third base over that stretch. His breakout season lastly got here in 2013, when Donaldson was 27 years outdated. Now achieved with catching for good, he acquired into 158 video games for the A’s that yr as their on a regular basis third baseman. He hit 24 house runs and drew a stroll in 11.4% of his plate appearances, solely placing out at a 16.5% price. His .301/.384/.499 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 147 and he acquired sturdy grades for his protection on the sizzling nook, resulting in a tally of seven.3 wins above alternative from FanGraphs and seven.2 from Baseball Reference. He completed fourth in American League MVP voting.
Donaldson adopted that up with a equally glorious season in 2014 and the A’s made the postseason for a 3rd straight yr, however made a rapid playoff exit all thrice. The membership determined to endure an enormous roster overhaul that winter, a frequent incidence for the membership and its persistent monetary considerations. Going into 2015, the membership traded away guys like Brandon Moss, Jeff Samardzija and in addition flipped Donaldson to the Blue Jays for a four-player bundle.
His first season in Toronto would ultimately show to be one of the best of his profession. He launched 41 house runs and slashed .297/.371/.568 for a wRC+ of 154. The Jays received the A.L. East that yr and Donaldson launched one other three house runs in that yr’s playoffs because the Jays superior so far as the ALCS. He was graded as price 8.7 fWAR and was voted as that yr’s A.L. MVP, simply forward of Mike Trout.
He would go onto to have one other glorious season for the Jays in 2016, hitting 37 house runs that yr as they superior to the ALCS but once more. He scored the profitable run within the ALDS by dashing house from second on a fielder’s option to safe an extra-inning victory over the Rangers.
However in 2017, accidents began to crop up, which might go on to be a key difficulty in the remainder of his profession. He was nonetheless glorious that season, slashing .270/.385/.559 whereas hitting 33 house runs, however was restricted to 113 contests as a consequence of a calf pressure. He and the Jays agreed to a $23MM wage for 2018, his closing yr of arbitration management. For the reason that Jays had fallen to fourth place the yr prior, there have been some commerce rumors round Donaldson that winter however he in the end stayed put.
He spent a lot of that yr on the injured record as a consequence of shoulder and calf points. With the Jays out of rivalry on the August waiver deadline, he was flipped to Cleveland for Julian Merryweather. Donaldson solely performed 16 video games for Cleveland after that deal as he continued battling his accidents.
He lastly reached free company that winter, however with a restricted quantity of momentum. Due to his late-bloomer trajectory, he was going into his age-33 season and coming off an injury-marred marketing campaign. Alex Anthopoulos, who acquired Donaldson when he was making selections for the Blue Jays, had change into the overall supervisor in Atlanta previous to the 2018 marketing campaign. He gave Donaldson a one-year “prove-it” deal price $23MM.
Donaldson bounced again tremendously with Atlanta, stepping into 155 video games, strolling in 15.2% of his plate appearances and hitting .259/.379/.521 for a 131 wRC+. He then rejected a qualifying supply from Atlanta after which signed a four-year, $92MM cope with the Twins. Points together with his proper calf cropped up once more in 2020, as he solely performed 28 video games throughout that shortened season, however was capable of get into 135 contests the yr after and launch 26 house runs within the course of.
With two years nonetheless left on that deal, the Twins flipped him to the Yankees alongside Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt, with Gio Urshela and Gary Sánchez going the opposite means. Donaldson was wholesome sufficient to get into 132 video games in 2022 however his manufacturing tailed off. He solely hit 15 homers and struck out at a 27.1% clip, resulting in a line of .222/.308/.374. He spent a lot of 2023 on the injured record and was launched on the finish of August, becoming a member of the Brewers for the stretch run earlier than returning to free company this winter.
It wasn’t a storybook ending however Donaldson nonetheless managed to weave collectively fairly a profession. Regardless of not really breaking out till the age of 27, he nonetheless managed to get into 1,384 video games and rack up 1,310 hits. That latter determine consists of 287 doubles, 12 triples and 279 house runs. He had matching tallies of 816 runs scored and runs batted in, stealing 40 bases within the course of. He acquired an MVP award, three All-Star choices and two Silver Sluggers. His fiery character which drove him to succeed additionally rankled some individuals across the recreation, as he usually quarrelled with umpires, coaches and fellow gamers, however that mixture of his expertise and prickly character will probably lead him to being one of many extra memorable gamers of his period. We at MLBTR salute him on his many accomplishments and need him one of the best in no matter comes subsequent.