GM taking patient approach on Donaldson
DUNEDIN, FLA.— Sometimes when you look back after transcribing a Ross Atkins interview — like Tuesday, when the Blue Jays general manager was reacting to Josh Donaldson’s frank discussion with the media the day before — it’s like trying to make sense of the Dead Sea Scrolls. But let’s help make sense of it.
If “values” translates to dollars and “risk” means guaranteed years on a contract, then Atkins made some sense describing where the Donaldson negotiations stand and why they have been put on hold: “What I’m comfortable sharing, out of respect for this process and J.D. and obviously the organization, is that as we went through the process, it is clear that we understand values and risk,” Atkins said. “It’s also clear that now is not the time to try and push it over the goal line.”
One interpretation is that Donaldson and his agent, Dan Lozano, want more guaranteed money and more guaranteed years in order to sign right now. It seems clear that, despite Donaldson’s suggestion Monday that no dollar figures came in the form of an official offer, he and the Jays are both are aware of the annual average value and the number of years that each would prefer.
Donaldson is 32 years old. But if the Jays are not interested in signing the third baseman beyond his age-37 season and Donaldson wants a deal that will take him to his 40th birthday, then there will be a huge chasm to bridge — in years and dollars — when the free-agent season starts in November. It would not be solved this spring.
“There’s a good understanding of those values, so in order to do that you do have to have very candid dialogue,” Atkins said. “I’m comfortable that Danny and J.D. understand how we were going about the process and how we were framing the value . . . and that’s mutual.”
It was just last of-season when the Jays’ management team blew its roster-building process right at the start with a flawed decision. Atkins and his team misjudged the evolving free-agent market and made a takeit-or-leave-it bid to veteran Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion that was yanked away when he said he wanted to explore the rest of the marketplace. Encarnacion signed with the Indians in January for less than the Jays’ early offer. By then, they Jays had turned to DH Kendrys Morales, inking him for three years and $33 million. They can’t get rid of that contract.
The Jays admitted long ago that they made a mistake with Encarnacion. So when asked whether the same strategy might unfold in November with Donaldson, Atkins was pretty clear that they would likely be more patient.
“Every situation’s different, every circumstance is different, and to compare it to one other player would not be the only way to think about it,” Atkins said.
“In terms of reacting and responding to the individual and what they could mean to the team, our process and how we identify values and identify talent and ultimately decide to build a team continues to evolve as any good process should.
“But ultimately, in any negotiation, there has to be an approach and a strategy given alternatives, given what that individual could mean in the grand scheme of things, given the other things that you have to accomplish at that time, given the off-season. There are just so many variables to say that’s one way or the other.”
But, hey, at least Atkins’s lines of communication with Donaldson and Lozano remain open and cordial. Waiting until November might even benefit the Jays and their chances to obtain a shorter-term agreement.
Not many clubs this winter are showing a willingness to sign big free agents all the way to age 39 or 40. Donaldson won’t find that out for himself until he is allowed to go through the process. So the Jays’ best chance is to wait. But even then ...
“There’s no doubt in my mind that he wants to be a Toronto Blue Jay,” Atkins said. “There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind. It’s such an interesting process for a player of his calibre because he feels a responsibility to this organization. He feels a responsibility to the city. He feels a responsibility to his teammates. He also feels a responsibility to the industry.”
The industry of which Atkins speaks is code for the MLB Players’ Association, and there is always real pressure from the union for freeagent players to negotiate the longest term and the most dollars so that the next class of free agents have the highest bar possible set for them. The union feels home-team discounts should not exist.
“Josh has been great,” Atkins said. “I think he articulated it well. It’s been a good process for us to go through with Lozano and J.D. It’s been respectful. It’s been productive. It’s been open. I feel good about the relationship and feel good about the potential of him being here long term. Out of respect for this team, out of respect for J.D., we don’t want it to become a distraction, and J.D. articulated that well.”
Oh, and Atkins also believes there’s a 90-per-cent chance that he will add another payer not already in this clubhouse before opening day.