Donaldson breakup bittersweet
Ex-Jay thanks fans, keeps it real in first comments about trade
The rains came and the rains went.
Ain’t no sunshine with Josh Donaldson — Bringer of Rain — gone, though.
On day two as an Indian, the former American League MVP — only one of two Blue Jays to have ascended those baseball heights — was careful not to throw any shade on the team that dealt him away. For peanuts. To save a buck. Well, 18 million bucks had the third baseman been made a qualifying offer for 2019. Chump change for the dark empire that is Rogers ownership — less than half what they paid Jaime Garcia this year, the bust of a pitcher released last week.
It’s a jarring thing, the instant shapeshifting demanded of professional athletes. One minute they’re all in, part of the city’s fabric, loyal and true, generating mega commercial sales for their jersey number. Next minute, No. 20 in T.O. is No. 27 in Cleveland, popping up in the dugout, that dumbass logo on his cap. From tribe to Tribe. But hey, no need to shed too many tears on Donaldson’s behalf, though one suspects he may have done so, after GM Ross Atkins broke the news late Friday night. Member of an outfit with a nosebleed 14-game lead in the AL Central, post-season bound and 6-to-1 World Series choices on the Vegas betting books.
No way to get there from here had Donaldson remained, not in the foreseeable future anyway. A future the brain trust wanted him to be no part of, clearly, especially with pupa sensation Vladimir Guerrero Jr. waiting in the wings, with an eye on the hot corner.
Would have been nice, however, to have a marquee teammate like Donaldson to show him the ropes.
“It’s been difficult to the extreme that I am leaving an organization that I was very much a big part of.” JOSH DONALDSON
To school him on hitting — not that Junior needs it, necessarily — as he’s done for so many teammates, this perpetual savant of the game.
It’s unclear when Donaldson will actually take the field, or whether he will be in the lineup when Cleveland comes to town for a four-set starting Thursday. But he says he’s ready. He said a lot of things at a meet-the-media session Sunday afternoon and one would have to read between the lines to suss out Donaldson’s genuine sentiments.
“It’s been difficult to the extreme that I am leaving an organization that I was very much a big part of. I had some top quality years there that I’m not going to forget. But I’m also looking forward to trying to help this team win and move forward as well.”
While Blue Jays fans wait for the big reveal — the player to be named later, someone on the 40-man roster who didn’t make it through waivers, as Atkins grudgingly disclosed on a conference call Saturday.
Donaldson put up flashy numbers in Toronto: .281 batting average, .931 on-base percentage, a 21.4 WAR, 316 RBIs and 116 runs, perhaps most memorably three jacks in one game, against the Twins on Aug. 28, 2016 with the Jays making their head-long rush towards the playoffs. But of course there are so many sweet spots to recall during his tenure here: the dramatic solo walk-off homer against Tampa Bay in that 2015 regular-season finale; catapulting Toronto into the 2016 AL Championship Series with the winning run in Game 3 of the division series against Texas, racing from second and sliding across home plate on an errant throw; that spectacular diving catch over the barrier between seats and field to temporarily preserve Marco Estrada’s perfect game bid.
Ah, take your pick. There were plenty.
As Donaldson told Shi Davidi of Sportsnet in a one-on-one after the main press conference at Progressive Field: “I’ve had some time to reflect. I’m just so grateful for the time I was with the Toronto Blue Jays organization. From day one, the fans really took me in — in 2015, with the all-star game votes, and how they continued just to show up and support me throughout the years was incredible. It’s not a time I’m going to forget.
“For me, it’s difficult because I’m leaving a city that I did love. At the same time, I have to be professional about this and I have to try to help this ball team. For me, it’s all-in or allout. I’m all-in trying to help this ball team now.’’
Of course he’d known, as everybody had as the clock ticked down to the waiver deadline, that his departure from Toronto was just about inevitable, though maybe Donaldson — like everyone else — was startled by the miserly return, even taking into account that he hasn’t played a major-league game since May 28, on the disabled list (second time around, this season alone) with calf issues. Those freakishly humongous calves. Still. Donaldson was on the field prior to Cleveland’s game against the Rays under watchful team eyes, his way of assuring new employers that he’s fine, just fine after more than three months of setbacks during rehab in Dunedin. “I’m excited because my body’s come to the point now where I feel very comfortable, where I’m going out there and playing and not just playing at an ordinary level, at a very high level as well.
“I was able to get here early, going through a workout, just so they could have their eyes on me and see where I’m at today.’’
The 32-year-old had, since the off-season, put himself in the hands of his own chosen physio and rehab and medical team, eschewing the Jays’ high-performance department, so the transition to another squad of handlers shouldn’t be disruptive. “The good thing is, I’m not really at a position where I need help anymore, as far as getting my body back to perform at a high level. Now it’s just kind of managing the load process and managing how many games I’m going to play in a row. It’s not a matter of getting me back on the field. I feel like I’m ready for that.”
The Indians don’t have to rush him, though they will need to make some adjustments, moving all-star Jose Ramirez to second base. That could put noses out of joint.
“Sometimes, in order to (win), you have to make sacrifices,’’ Donaldson observed.
He’ll have an ally and buddy in former Jays teammate Edwin Encarnacion, who was among the first to call and throw out the welcome mat when the trade was announced.
“We had a lot of fond memories together as teammates,” said Donaldson. “I’m sure if you ask him as well, we’re excited about making some new ones.”
And, as Donaldson also pointed out, Cleveland has always been good to him.
“If I look back at my numbers playing in this ballpark, they’re … pretty nice.” Grin.
To wit: a .317 batting average, .997 OPS, nine home runs and 36 RBIs in 37 career games against the Indians.
Yes, he’ll doubtless bring the rain and some thunder in Cleveland. Toronto will recede in the rear-view mirror. But Donaldson won’t forget and neither will this city.
“If I was writing a book, it’s not how I would have wanted it to go. But hopefully it has a happy ending.”
Happy trails, Josh.