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Blue Jays: Josh Donaldson inks one-year pact with Braves

By Clayton Richer

CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 3: Josh Donaldson #20 of the Toronto Blue Jays tosses his bat after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning against the Cleveland Indians in game two of a doubleheader at Progressive Field on May 3, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 3: Josh Donaldson #20 of the Toronto Blue Jays tosses his bat after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning against the Cleveland Indians in game two of a doubleheader at Progressive Field on May 3, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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The Atlanta Braves have inked former Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson to a one-year $23 million dollar pact.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic has reported that Josh Donaldson will be joining the Atlanta Braves for the 2019 campaign. The former MVP will be reunited General Manager Alex Anthopoulos who initially acquired Donaldson from Oakland in 2014.

The third baseman will attempt to remain healthy and rebuild his stock on a one-year deal before re-entering the free agency pool. Donaldson saw action in only 52 regular season games in 2018 between the Blue Jays and Indians due to an array of shoulder and calf injuries.

Last season Donaldson hit .246/.352/.449 with eight round-trippers in 219 plate appearances. J.D. hit .091 with a single in 12 plate appearances during three postseason games with Cleveland in the ALDS versus Houston.

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The Blue Jays opted for pitching prospect Julian Merryweather from Cleveland rather than keeping Donaldson in the fold for another season. Donaldson will earn the same amount monetarily in Atlanta next season as the slugger did in his final year of arbitration in 2018.

The third baseman will be a missed commodity north of the border this season, of course, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. may ease the pain of the Donaldson void in short order if the uber-prospect lives up to the hype.

The Braves will now need to shift third baseman Johan Camargo to either shortstop or the outfield to make room for Donaldson. Camargo had a breakout campaign of sorts in 2018 hitting .272/.349/.457 with 19 home runs in his sophomore season in the majors.

When healthy Donaldson can be one of the most dangerous and dynamic players in the game, unfortunately, the slugger has struggled to remain on the field the past couple of seasons.

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Best of luck in Atlanta, Josh, you will be missed and if we can’t have you, I am glad A.A. can.

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