Josh Donaldson of the Atlanta Braves follows through after hiting an RBI single in Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Truist Park in Cumberland, Georgia, October 4, 2019. /AP Photo
Josh Donaldson of the Atlanta Braves follows through after hiting an RBI single in Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Truist Park in Cumberland, Georgia, October 4, 2019. /AP Photo
The fun of the MLB free-agent market might come to an end as the last big fish, former third baseman of the Atlanta Braves, Josh Donaldson signed a four-year deal with the Minnesota Twins, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports revealed that Donaldson's new contract's worth 92 million U.S. dollars and has a fifth-year option that can make the deal's value surpass 100 million if executed.
34-year-old Donaldson is a three-time All-Star slugger and won the AL MVP in 2015. On November 28, 2014, he was sent by the Oakland Athletics to the Toronto Blue Jays in a big trade that costs the Blue Jays Brett Lawrie, Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin, and Franklin Barreto.
Josh Donaldson of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a double to deep right center in Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, October 11, 2015.
Josh Donaldson of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a double to deep right center in Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, October 11, 2015.
Soon Donaldson proved his worth the price. In the 2015 season, he had 122 runs, 123 RBIs and 41 homers – all career highs. His incredible performance also helped the Blue Jays make the playoffs for the first time since 1993.
Unfortunately, Donaldson suffered bottom and leg injuries after that, which affected his performance. Last season, he rose again in the Braves. Having played 155 games, Donaldson contributed 96 runs, 94 RBIs and 37 home runs for the team. Thanks to the firepower by him, Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna Jr., the Braves finished the regular season as No. 1 of the NL East division.
Before signing Donaldson, the Twins were already one of the most intimidating teams in the offense – they got record-high 307 homers and 939 RBIs, which is the Majors' second-best only next to the New York Yankees. Now that they have their sixth guy who got 30+ home runs in one season, no team wanted to meet them in defense.