Toronto Blue Jays: Josh Donaldson Acquisition Revisited

           Josh Donaldson was Acquired by the Blue Jays 7 Years Ago Today

It’s November 28th, and Happy Birthday to me. In most cases I consider obsessing over your own birthday to be a toxic trait, and a large red flag in a human being. However, I grant myself an exception. This is because on November 28th, 2014, one of the greatest trades in Blue Jays history was completed. The Blue Jays acquired Josh Donaldson seven (!) years ago today. Reminiscing and indulging in my memories of the 2015 MVP on my birthday brings me joy year after year.

Donaldson, fondly referred to as the “Bringer of Rain”, provided a lot of fun times for the Jays and their fan base. As we all remember, he was acquired in a trade from the Oakland Athletics.  All of the walk-off home runs, diving catches, confrontations, and quotable moments culminated towards him being the  American League’s Most Valuable Player in 2015. Before the season began however, there was a general acknowledgement amongst Blue Jays fandom that the package sent over for him was actually somewhat steep. It included a native Canadian who had untapped potential, a pair of pitching prospects, and a young capable infield prospect.

Today, in the wake of uncertainty during these tense CBA times, we take a walk down memory lane. We’re going to review the package that was shipped to Oakland and peek at the status of their careers thus far. Lastly we will be checking in on the centrepiece, Josh Donaldson. We’ll look at how he’s performed since his anti-climactic departure and if he remains an impact player in the Major Leagues.