For a player whose nickname is “Bringer of Rain,” Josh Donaldson has brought more storm clouds over his future than the thunderous moonshots that MLB fans are accustomed to.
Exhibit A:
Warning track, a ground out and oh ya a home run so far in Josh Donaldson’s rehab game here in Dunedin tonight. pic.twitter.com/v8ZcKZi6te
— Rob Longley (@longleysunsport) August 30, 2018
Josh Donaldson was traded to the Cleveland Indians during Friday’s waiver trade deadline, or, as it should be called, the time of the year everyone pretends to know the difference between the non-waiver and waiver trade deadline.
(Rolls off the tongue, right? If you still don’t know the difference or would like a simple explanation, here’s a breakdown courtesy of the MLB).
On the surface, the trade doesn’t make much sense.
The Indians already have AL MVP candidate Jose Ramirez entrenched as their everyday third baseman. At the time of this writing, Ramirez is in third place in the majors for home runs (37), fifth in RBIs (94), and 10th in batting average among third basemen (.288) with a .400 on-base percentage to boot.
According to Baseball Reference, Erik González is one of two players that has have logged playing time at third base for the Indians. In 122 plate appearances, González has one home run, 15 RBIs, a .284 batting average, and a .320 on-base percentage.
The other player that has logged playing time at third base is Yandy Diaz. In 52 plate appearances, Diaz has zero home runs, eight RBIs, a .320 batting average, and a .346 on-base percentage.
None of these stats are listed because they’re the tell-all statistics of baseball. These specific stats paint a clearer picture as to why the Indians acquired the 2015 AL MVP.
Josh Donaldson has hit 179 dingers in his career. Despite Ramirez’s emergence this season, that’s 137 more than the aforementioned trio players have combined for in their careers.
Josh Donaldson is getting paid $23 million this season. He’s also on an expiring contract on a team that has impending key free agents:
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Cody Allen
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Andrew Miller
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Michael Brantley
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Josh Tomlin
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Rajai Davis
The Indians were also linked to Manny Machado and Bryce Harper at the trade deadline(s?), who will certainly cost a pretty penny to obtain. Despite the MLB technically having no salary cap, the Indians haven’t been the best team at attracting or signing marquee free agents; at least those in their primes. Luckily for Cleveland, they don’t have to worry about that.
Francisco Lindor, Corey Kluber, Brad Hand, and Yan Gomes are all under team control until 2022.
Francisco Mejia, Cleveland’s top prospect, was traded in order to acquire Brad Hand and Adam Cimber, the latter of whom is under team control until 2024.
The Indians’ starting rotation is sixth in total wins (77) and 11th in ERA (without Danny Salazar most of the season and with previous starting rotation/bullpen mainstays like Josh Tomlin, Mike Clevinger, and Cody Miller on/off the DL). Their .242 opposing batting average has them in a three-way tie with the Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals.
That’s all well and good for the Indians, but Josh Donaldson is not a pitcher. He plays third base. Lucky for Donaldson, that’s all the Indians will ask him to do.
The Indians are third in total runs scored this season (679), third in RBIs (654), fifth in batting average (as a team, .258), and fifth in home runs (181).
So where does Donaldson fit in? That’s where things get murky.
Donaldson has appeared in 36 games this season and (again, at the time of this writing) has yet to make his debut in the navy blue and red. In those 36 games, Donaldson had five home runs, 16 RBIs… and a .234 batting average; his lowest since his rookie season with the Oakland Athletics. Not quite a ringing endorsement for the newest Indian.
Since May 28, 2018, Josh Donaldson has not stepped onto the field in any major league ballpark.
Donaldson’s most recent action came for the Blue Jays’ High-A affiliate, the Dunedin Blue Jays. In 10 at-bats, Donaldson tallied four hits, one home run, and three RBIs; with his most recent action coming this past Thursday. That’s all anyone has to go off this season.
The Cleveland Indians made a trade for Josh Donaldson for this season, but this season isn’t about winning another division title (barring a late-season collapse). This season isn’t about advancing to the ALDS or even to the World Series. This season is about winning it.
Does acquiring Josh Donaldson guarantee the Cleveland Indians win the World Series for the first time since 1948? No.
Does acquiring Josh Donaldson mean that the Indians are suddenly upset with Jose Ramirez and want Donaldson in the everyday lineup? No.
Baseball trades are different.
In the NBA, a team can make a trade during the offseason (or sometimes in-season), and it can turn their whole team and/or season around.
Trades in the NFL are normally either minor (like Saturday’s between the Colts and the Seahawks) or major (see Mack, Khalil).
In the NHL, they’re quite frequent, but rarely are there blockbusters like the Ryan O’Reilly trade to St. Louis or Jeff Skinner’s to Buffalo this offseason; or the Ryan McDonagh to Tampa Bay an offseason ago.
Trades in the MLB aren’t normally made just to sell tickets. The Dodgers didn’t need Manny Machado and Brian Dozier, but they got them anyway.
In the MLB, trades are made (normally) for one of three reasons:
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For depth.
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For veteran leadership/experience.
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To improve a position (or positions) of weakness.
The Bringer of Rain brings all three of those things. For the first time in Donaldson’s career, he faces no pressure. He isn’t being asked to carry an anemic Oakland Athletics roster or to lead the Toronto Blue Jays out of mediocrity. He’s in Cleveland now to do what he does best: hit a baseball, hard.
For a team that has (legitimate) World Series aspirations, Donaldson is a worthy gamble.