OUTTA HERE
Last-minute trade to Cleveland sets up reunion next week
Toronto Blue Jays trade fan favourite Josh Donaldson to Cleveland Indians,
Of course it made all the sense in the world, when push came to shove, that Blue Jays’ 2015 AL MVP Josh Donaldson would end up being traded to Cleveland on Friday. After negotiating with a handful of contenders, a situation made possible by the all-star third baseman clearing revocable waivers in the afternoon, GM Ross Atkins felt the best offer was from his former organization, the first-place Indians.
What the Jays received in return for Donaldson had not been made official at the Star’s deadline, but not much was expected in terms of top prospects. The fact is that not one of the August trades in MLB involved a top-30 prospect from any organization. Plus it was expected that the Jays would help pay the remainder of Donaldson’s salary, about $3.7 million U.S.
There were other teams that had been rumoured to be interested, led by the Cardinals, Braves, Yankees and Astros, but it was the Indians who always made the most sense, especially given the existing relationship among president Mark Shapiro, Atkins and the Cleveland front office. With very little time to make a deal after the waiver deadline expired, familiarity between executives was key.
Donaldson rejoins former teammate Edwin Encarnacion, who with Jose Bautista formed a potent middle of the batting order for the Jays in 2015 and 2016 when Toronto went to the postseason and the AL Championship series in back-to-back years, losing in 2016 to the Indians in five games.
It won’t take long for Donaldson to pay his respects to Jays fans as the Indians visit the Rogers Centre for a four-game series starting next Thursday.
Fans should make sure to give Donaldson a standing ovation for his significant contributions to making Blue Jays baseball relevant and filling the ballpark.
Cleveland manager Terry Francona had suggested earlier in the week that he would prefer to keep his own MVP candidate, Jose Ramirez, at third base, but the obvious solution now that Donaldson is on board seems to be that as soon as Bringer of Rain is healthy enough to play every day, Ramirez will move to second base with Jason Kipnis headed to the outfield, where he also played a year ago.
The MLB revocable-waiver deadline came and went at 1 p.m. on Friday with nobody having claimed Donaldson. That meant Atkins was able to negotiate freely with 29 teams for the rest of the day. Zero claims for one of the most dynamic offensive players in baseball was actually a good outcome for the Jays, who were able to use at least a little bit of perceived leverage in negotiating what was always going to be a disappointing return for the Jays’ icon.
Not being restricted by a waiver claim could have been viewed as other teams balancing the potential upside of gaining exclusivity in negotiating with the Jays, for 30 days of Donaldson’s services, against the potential downside if the two teams were unable to reach agreement on player compensation, and the possibility that Atkins might just dump the remaining $3.7-million salary and wash his hands.
The whole process was a jumbled breakdown of deadlines and timing with a lastminute feel of desperation. The perception of vitriol between the Jays and Donaldson likely came down to the 11th-hour creating stress and frayed nerves on both sides. The club had expected Donaldson to begin a rehab option some time in the middle of August that would have left plenty of time for the normal process to unfold. A few games of rehab to prove he was in form. Then a two-day revocable trade-waiver period, followed by two days within which to work out a reasonable trade. But you know what they say about the best-laid plans.
By the time Donaldson was finally ready to sacrifice his muscled calf in game action, it was Tuesday night in a Florida State League game. It was within 63 hours of the waiver deadline and what had he actually proved about his health? Nothing.
So when J.D. played five innings for the Class-A Dunedin Blue Jays on Tuesday, and then Wednesday’s game against Palm Beach was rained out, that only served to heighten the tension. And even after he sucked it up and played the first game of a makeup doubleheader on Thursday, was that going to be enough for MLB to approve Donaldson’s presence on the waiver wire? There was tension at the deadline.
In hindsight, the Jays waited too long to trade Donaldson. If only they had been blessed with knowledge ahead of time of pending injuries to Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman, plus the long-term loss of Troy Tulowitzki and the 75-game suspension to closer Roberto Osuna. The wizened secondguessers now know that Atkins should have gathered offers over the winter and maximized the return.
The July 31 trade deadline did not end the efforts of contenders trying to muscle up for the final month. August, with its revocable-waiver obstacle to contend with, was a busy time for teams looking to be playing in October.
Into the final day of August, there were 12 transactions of players headed from also-rans to contenders. None of the trades involved a Top 30 prospect coming back from any of the organizations seeking a quick fix.