National Post (National Edition)
Josh & Alex’s big plans
FORMER BLUE JAYS OUT TO PROVE THEIR WORTH THIS SEASON IN ATLANTA
It is as it should be given his pedigree and highend past performances in the game.
In the Atlanta Braves clubhouse here at the Walt Disney World Resort, Josh Donaldson’s locker is in a place of prominence among the young, blossoming stars on this upwardly mobile team, his pending role implied as well as anticipated.
The Bringer of Rain professes to be fit again and he’s keen to put the disaster of his last two seasons in Toronto behind him.
And yes, Donaldson is heightened in his motivation to once again be part of a team that has legit aspirations to contend.
In a year where more than one mighty free agent was threatening to strike out, Donaldson was well ahead of the Bryce Harper/Manny Machado mania and is cashing another big cheque, a one-year, US$23 million bet by the Braves.
But besides returning to the form he flashed with the Jays to win the 2015 American League MVP award, Donaldson hopes to take care of another piece of business — rewarding Atlanta general manager Alex Anthopoulos for his loyalty and support.
“I am looking forward to proving Alex right again,” said Donaldson, who is so eager to get started on that task that he reported to the Braves’ spring home five days early. “I proved him right the first time he got me and I want to do it again.”
After electrifying a city and a country with the Jays in 2015, Anthopoulos and Donaldson are reunited in Dixie and doing so with one of the most promising young teams in the National League.
As flattering as it might be to hear Donaldson sing his praises, this reunion is singular in focus for Montreal native Anthopoulos, one of the most bright and innova- tive front office minds in the sport.
“There’s no doubt it’s nice to hear that,” Anthopoulos said. “At the end of the day, we want the same thing. Josh wants to win and I want to win. I appreciate that.
“Most importantly, he’s a great player and he’s going to help us win and make the players around him better. He earned this contract and opportunity because of who he is as a human being and a baseball player.”
After two years of frustration with the Jays and a bitter ending last August that those close to him say still doesn’t sit well, Donaldson is upbeat about being healthy for his first spring training in three years.
He’s also reunited with former Jays trainer George Poulis, who helped keep him healthy in Toronto and pronounced Donaldson as being “mentally and physically in an unbelievable place.”
“I feel like a newborn baby,” said a fit and fresh Donaldson. “It’s been a while.
“I didn’ t have togo through that grind last year. I went through it more so mentally because physically I was unable to perform at all, really.”
The courtship of Donaldson was a relatively easy one for Anthopoulos and it relied only minimally on their past relationship in Toronto.
As the Braves were gearing up for a playoff run in late August, he approached Jays general manager Ross Atkins. A deal couldn’t be reached and once recovered from injury, Donaldson ended up with Cleveland.
It was that September cameo and a quick exit from the playoffs versus Houston that convinced Anthopoulos that the elite Donaldson was still a thing and worth the chase. What the GM — who dealt four Jays players to Oakland for Donaldson to supercharge the Toronto roster in 2014 — saw was the same game changer he coveted in 2014, a player on the cusp of an MVP campaign.
“When he went on trade waivers (with the Jays), we were interested in him then,” Anthopoulos said. “But seeing what he did with the Indians, how hard he was hitting the ball, everything was back in line with the highend, MVP-calibre Josh Donaldson. What he showed in September was a huge part of the equation in terms of us being able to bet on the performance.”
Even though it was only a one- year deal, Donaldson and Anthopoulos were ahead of the off-season free agent game, coming to terms on Nov. 23.
Keeping with his mindset of being aggressive when he feels the time is right, Anthopoulos went all in on what in his mind is a proven commodity.
“Alex was very forthright with me early on in the negotiating and him and I have always had that relationship where he’s always been very honest with me,” Donaldson said. “So when he said he wanted to try to put something together, I knew he was serious.”
That aggressive Anthopoulos management style is certainly in contrast with the way the Jays approached the off-season.
The biggest signing from the Rogers vault since last season mercifully ended was the US$ 4 million the team paid for veteran Freddy Galvis, who may or may not be an everyday shortstop but should bring some defensive accountability to the Jays infield.
Meanwhile, Anthopoulos is employing the same mentality that endeared him to fans in Toronto, one that made parent company Rogers Communications boatloads of cash from 2015 to 2018 when the Jays were the best- attended team in the AL.
“You always need to make moves to make a team better and to upgrade,” Anthopoulos said.
“If we can upgrade, we’re going to look to do it.”
High on the Braves’ wish list was a proven mega run producer. An tho poul os noted that in the second half of 2018, his team was eighth in the NL in runs, a dip from fourth in the first 81 games.
He also wanted what he felt would be a positive influence among the youngsters in the team’s clubhouse.
“We didn’t have that much power and we wanted to get a power bat,” Anthopoulos said. “Josh is a baseball rat. He loves the game and he made his career on his own because of his intellectual curiosity and wanting to get better.
“That can only help rub off on other players. It took me a long time to realize this, that players can make other players better, whether by example or pulling them aside.
“In Toronto, ( Jose) Bautista made ( Edwin) Encarnacion better at an important time in his career — the way he prepared, just being around him. You see it all the time.”
There was another rather significant attraction to getting Donaldson now, while his peak years are still in front of him.
“Great players are always more valuable on winning teams and he’s a great player,” Anthopoulos said.
“Josh is one of the best players in the game, he has MVP calibre upside. Our goals are to first win the division and then ultimately get to and win the World Series. He makes our team better.”
The Donaldson injury woes of 2018 were a drama that had its opening act on the first day of spring training and ended when Atkins peddled him to Cleveland on Aug. 31 for pitching prospect Julian Merryweather.
It was a season filled with mistrust and miscalculations between the team and their biggest superstar, with injuries and frustration leading to one of the most popular Jays of recent vintage leaving town with a sour taste.
Donaldson’s season was pockmarked from the start. First, it was the shoulder, then it was the calf and along the way bitterness and resentment on both sides.
Now he’s back with Poulis, a trainer he trusted with the Jays before the team’s celebrated high- performance department messed with Donaldson’s trust and confidence.
“Going into spring training last year, my shoulder was already a little banged up and the first day of camp I kind of over-taxed it a little bit,” Donaldson said. “I blew it up and I was never really able to get it right the entire spring training.”
That led to the “dead arm” syndrome he fought in the opening games as he was barely able to throw the ball to first.
To counter that this offseason, Donaldson said he was throwing “three or four times a week” to keep the strength up. As for his calves, he worked on strengthening his feet to lessen the load and strain.
“I’m looking forward to going out there and proving that I can do it again,” Donaldson said.
“We’re going to try to manage the workload early on. There’s going to be a lot of conversations between me and the training staff and coaching staff here to really put a plan together so there’s not going to be any setbacks.”
Understandably, Anthopoulos said Donaldson’s season will be managed carefully so he’s as effective in September and ideally October as he is at the start.
“It’s on us to make sure we give him days,” Anthopoulos said.
“We talked to him about that. He wants to be on the field and we want to make sure he’s healthy for the sixmonth season and hopefully beyond that.
“Our goal is to put him in the best position to have some success and stay healthy. “If we do that, we should get great results.”
Like any observant major leaguer, Braves outfielder Nick Markakis is well aware of Donaldson’s prowess, even more so because of his nine seasons in the AL.
“When he’s healthy, he’s one of the best pure players in the game,” Markakis said.
“He’s a hell of a ballplayer. Hopefully, he can get past those injuries he’s had nagging these past couple years and help us out tremendously.”
In the 2015 MVP season in Toronto, Anthopoulos saw plenty from Donaldson, of course, but much of what he saw went beyond the stat lines. He saw the same at the end of the 2017 season when the Bringer of Rain went on a tear, and again in his brief time with the Indians in 2018.
“The edge and the toughness he brings and the mentality, it will be good for your young guys,” Anthopoulos said. “The way he plays the game will be a good fit for our clubhouse.”
While he has been outspoken in the past of his displeasure clouding his end in Toronto, Donaldson is doing his best to keep those regrets to a minimum.
Being from the south — northern Florida and Alabama — he says he grew up a Braves fan and for the first time in his career, family and friends will have an easier journey to see him play.
“Who knows what would have happened, what situation I would be in right now ( if I was healthy in 2019),” Donaldson said.
“But I’m very confident and thrilled to be a part of this organization.
“This off-season I was able to reset my mindset, get back to focusing on whatever I can do to just stay positive and put myself in positions where I can have success.”