Blue Jays: Potential trade partners for Josh Donaldson

Entering free agency at the end of the season, Josh Donaldson is an obvious August trade candidate, but has only been able to play 36 games in 2018. Nonetheless there will certainly be some teams interested in the three-time All-Star, and 2015 American League MVP third baseman.

Editor’s note: The writer submitted this article a few days ago, and to his credit, it should have been published before now. That said, a hat tip to Jon Heyman for his similar article.

Josh Donaldson was supposed to be traded in the July trade deadline, and although the Blue Jays had talks with other teams on a possible deal involving the third baseman according to Blue Jays General Manager Ross Atkins, the discussions did not come to fruition and the 32-year-old remains a Blue Jay. The fact he’s still a Blue Jay is simply because he hasn’t played a baseball game since May 29th due to left calf tightness and suffered a setback during his rehab, which ended the possibilities of him being traded prior the non-waiver trade deadline.

Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports and MLB Network reported on August 7th that the former MVP was set to begin sprinting that week and could soon eventually join the team. Adding on to that, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson Smith reported that Donaldson has been working out and running, which indicates he’s inching closer to a return.

All health issues put aside, Josh Donaldson has proven he’s one of the best players in Major League Baseball and someone who can be a difference maker at any time, including October, which is really what teams look for in August trades. His career playoff numbers are quite impressive. He has a career postseason slash line of .292/.361/.475 with an OPS of .836 along with four home runs and 13 RBI’s in 120 at bats.

The best situation for the Blue Jays is to have Donaldson comeback, clear waivers, prove he’s healthy and put up a show for about a week or two, and ultimately draw interest from contending teams. Nothing guaranteed, but surely possible.

Here are the teams who could be interested in acquiring the 2015 American League MVP.

Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians are a very possible landing spot for ‘The Bringer of Rain’. First of all, while Donaldson is on waivers, any team from the American League can place a claim on him, but in reverse order of record. If all non-contending teams pass on Donaldson, which is the logical outcome, then the Indians would be the first to claim Donaldson and have a chance to work out a trade with the Blue Jays, as they have the worst record among teams who are contending.

The 2016 American League Champions could certainly add one more potent bat in their lineup and move Jose Ramirez to second while pushing Jason Kipnis to a utility role. On top of that, Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro and General Manager Ross Atkins have ties to Cleveland and have good knowledge of Cleveland’s prospects.

The Indians were also one of the teams checking in on names like Manny Machado and Bryce Harper at the July trade deadline which suggests they were ready to make a splash in the trade market and acquire a big name.

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs have their third baseman Kris Bryant on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation and his return isn’t expected anytime soon. He’s currently taking ‘dry swings’ which means he still isn’t in batting cages but is making some progress in his recovery. Shoulder issues can linger and the Cubs might want to look for a third baseman, even if it’s a risky one in Josh Donaldson, considering there is still no timetable for Bryant’s return from the disabled list. Although there isn’t any set date on Donaldson’s return yet, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him back with the team within a week or two as he’s already doing some base running.

If the Cubs were to acquire Josh Donaldson and Kris Bryant eventually made a return, they could perhaps give Bryant more playing time in left field where he has played before. It isn’t the best fit but the Cubs could certainly have some interest in acquiring ‘The Bringer of Rain’.

New York Yankees

This might seem a bit of a crazy thought, but the Yankees have lacked production from first base all season long. Greg Bird, Neil Walker, and Luke Voit are their first base options at the moment. They have OPS’s of .713, .640 and .574 respectively (the latter one in just 23 at-bats). Therefore, acquiring Donaldson and playing him at first, or moving rookie Miguel Andujar to first, would make their lineup even scarier and make their World Series aspirations even more realistic.

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The Blue Jays will definitely explore any trade possibilities for Donaldson but perhaps keeping him and extending a qualifying offer to the third baseman might be the better option for two reasons. If Donaldson accepts the qualifying offer then you have another year of an MVP caliber player (if he’s healthy) who you could trade at next year’s trade deadline. If he declines the potential qualifying offer, then the Blue Jays would get a compensatory pick in next years draft which could be a better prospect than any prospect they get in a trade offer. At the end of the day, it will simply depend on what the Blue Jays are offered in exchange.

Boston Red Sox

The team with the best record in baseball likely doesn’t need any more help, but you can’t rule out the possibility either.

The urgency for help isn’t as big as it was now that Rafael Devers is back from injury, but it remains to be seen how Alex Cora will handle third base going forward. In addition to Devers he has other options like Eduardo Nunez and Brock Holt, but none offer the potential upside that a healthy Donaldson could bring to the lineup.

Again though, I’m not sure the Red Sox need to focus on their offence if they’re still looking to improve the team. At 85-35 they should feel pretty good about where things are at, even if Donaldson would offer a theoretical upgrade.