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.

Brett Lawrie

The era of Brett Lawrie being a face of the Blue Jays was an interesting one. While I was finishing grade school and learning how to throw a curveball, Lawrie was becoming an electric factory in his home country. He flashed the leather with the best of them at third base. This is backed up both by the eye test and his cumulative 5.7  defensive WAR throughout his four years as a Jay. For reference, Nolan Arenado’s dWAR throughout his first four years was 8.2.

Sadly, Lawrie was anything but consistent. Prolonged slumps at the plate and persistent injury issues saw his lustre fade. Towards the end of 2014, Lawrie wasn’t quite viewed as that phenom Canadian and fan favourite anymore. After his rookie season in 2011, he averaged only 101 games a year. There still existed some potential, but he became more than expendable in trade talks. He slotted as the perfect fill-in for Donaldson’s vacancy in Oakland, and played out one whole season with the Athletics. What followed was an injury plagued season with the Chicago White Sox in 2016. This was the last Major League team he appeared with.

Since 2016, Lawrie has been dealing with nagging injuries. These have kept him from getting into any minor league games or international competition. His uninspiring 94.5 WRC+ between 2015 and 2016 goes to show there wasn’t much success post Blue Jays for Lawrie. The most recent baseball related action for him was his contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. They hooked him up with a minor league deal in February of 2019 in the hopes of him rehabbing and possibly contributing to them down the line. However, Lawrie’s physical health stood in the way and he never saw an inning on the field. I’ll keep my biases to myself, as people view Jays Journal for educated and impartial literature. Despite this, I wish the best for Lawrie and his post career endeavours.

A Pair of Prospects

The two lesser known names in this trade, contrary to Brett Lawrie, are actually still mossing around in Major League Baseball. Left-handed pitcher Sean Nolin and infielder Franklin Barreto were part of the package to Oakland, and were highly thought of prospects at one point. Heading into 2014, they ranked 5th and 18th at one time in the Blue Jays system, respectively.

Sean Nolin never attained the success that was once thought possible. His tenure with the Athletics was short-lived, as he lasted only one season. His 2015 season saw him make six starts and pitch to a 5.28 ERA. He wouldn’t see the Major Leagues again until this past season with the Washington Nationals. He took part in 10 games, including five starts, and had a 4.39 ERA. Long story short, there was little impact made to the Athletics from Sean Nolin. The southpaw recently re-signed with the Nats on a new minor league contract.

Franklin Barreto actually had some hype around him during this time in the Blue Jays organization, and maybe even more after he was traded. He was viewed as a multi-tooled, high potential infielder. He had put up fantastic minor league numbers in his career. Unfortunately for Barreto, this performance never found itself in the Majors. His career OPS+ currently sits at 47 during his time between the Athletics and most recently the Angels. He did not appear this past season, and his potential as an athletic, high impact infielder has yet to be realized. Baretto is currently a free agent.

Josh Donaldson

Josh Donaldson’s tenure with the Blue Jays had an unceremonious ending. In an injury plagued 2018 season he found himself traded to the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later. After only 16 games in Cleveland he became a free agent. Unable to attain a multi-year deal, he signed a one-year pact with the Atlanta Braves. This “prove-it” deal yielded an elite season from Donaldson as he produced a 126 OPS+ over 155 games with the Braves. This re-surfacing from Donaldson then propelled him to sign a multi-year deal with the Minnesota Twins.

Donaldson’s been a Twin for two full seasons now, putting up a 128 OPS+ so far. He certainly doesn’t get the hype he once had during his time as a Jay, but he remains an elite third-baseman. In addition to these solid on paper numbers from the last two seasons, his peripherals courtesy of Baseball Savant paint a pretty picture. For some reason the media doesn’t want to tell you that Donaldson has an outstanding ability to consistently make hard contact with the ball, even in his mid 30’s. He ranks in the 99th percentile in average exit velocity, 95th percentile in hard hit %, and 95th in barrel%. All this while also getting on base at an elite rate. He is in the 94th percentile in BB rate, which gave him a .352 OBP% last year opposed to his .247 batting average.

In summation, Josh Donaldson remains an elite player, despite not getting an overwhelming amount of attention. It’s all Ohtani this and Tatis that, meanwhile there’s a lumbering, former MVP still producing up in Minnesota. Donaldson still shows love for Toronto. His jersey swap with Vlad this season could bring a tear to your eye, and his attendance at a Maple Leafs game earlier this month was very cool to see.

This trade is essentially full circle. The package the Athletics received for Donaldson are all no longer in that organization. I wish Donaldson nothing but health and continued success, and appreciated all the memories he provided. Thank you to the Blue Jays for the birthday gift that I never expected.