The Blue Jays have announced a two-year, $28.65MM deal with star third baseman Josh Donaldson. He’ll earn $11.65MM in 2016 and $17MM for the following year.
The sides had been set for arbitration, with Donaldson filing at $11.8MM and the team countering at $11.35MM. While the gulf between those numbers is obviously a pittance compared to the overall value involved, the Jays employ a “trial and file” strategy that made a hearing inevitable after numbers were swapped — barring a multi-year deal. The sides could have worked out a deal to buy out all of Donaldson’s remaining arb years — he was a Super Two last year and is under control through 2018 via arbitration — if not a yet longer pact to lock up some free agent seasons, but chose the more straightforward option.
Fresh off of an American League MVP award, Donaldson had enormous earning power at the arb table. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz broke down his case in January, noting that the projected $12MM salary would have represented a record $7.7MM raise. Obviously, both team and player agreed that was a bit more than was warranted, though even the Jays were willing to pay the same bump that the prior record holder received (Chris Davis, with a $7.05MM raise).
The new deal not only rewards Donaldson for his monster 2015 season with a nice salary in the coming season, but also promises him a second huge payday. It’s less than he might have earned with another strong season — and much less than a repeat MVP effort would have brought — but significantly reduces his risk in exchange for some potential cost savings and certainty to the club.
Donaldson, who came over from the A’s last winter, went to a hearing with his new club before he ever suited up. The club won, with Donaldson settling for $4.3MM — a fair sight shy of the $5.75MM that he sought. Of course, he’s now more than made up for it with this new deal.
There certainly weren’t any lingering effects from that adversarial proceeding on Donaldson, who exceeded already-high expectations last year. The MVP tab was well deserved, as the 30-year-old delivered a .297/.371/.568 slash and 41 home runs, helping to lead Toronto to an AL East pennant. With typically stellar defense mixed in, Donaldson tallied 8.8 rWAR and 8.7 fWAR.
Something of a late-bloomer, Donaldson represents a tough decision as a long-term extension candidate. There’s little chance he’d take a significant discount to give away free agent years, but he’s already under control through his age-32 season and has every right to demand a premium payday.
Toronto is, of course, already examining the possibility of buying up seasons of sluggers in their mid-30s, as pending free agents Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista are on the docket for extension talks this spring. Having Donaldson’s salary for 2017 already on the books certainly removes a variable, though balancing the long-term checkbook still seems a matter that will require some care.
Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reported the agreement and approximate value. Ronald Blum of the Associated Press reported the precise guarantee (via the Washington Post).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Great to have a deal in place. Weird they only went for two years though. I would of thought he would of been the face of the franchise for at least five – seven years. Kinda makes you wonder what the Jays are planning for the future …
2 years buy out his last 2 arb years. They don’t gain/lose control over him with this deal.
Correction: it buys out 2 of his last 3 years.
@ HibbardHustler
What’s weird about it at all?
Donaldson will still be under team control for through 2018. The point of the 2 year deal is to play around the platform year so he only has ‘3 rounds’ of arbitration despite being a Super 2 player.
It’s strictly a financial move.
Also, what’s up with the ‘face of the franchise’ thing? Anyone can be marketed to be franchise player. There are plenty of guys who can fill the role.
Yeah your right who would want the raining MVP to be the face of our franchise. My bad.
@HibbardHustler
Why are you being obtuse?
Derek Jeter never won the MVP and he was clearly the ‘face of the franchise’ of the most iconic baseball team in the world.
Yes, you already said anyone can be a “face of a franchise” why wouldnt we want it to be our reining MVP? I know my kid loves him. They are even making a bobble head out of him this year. Your right let’s pick someone else. Maybe Chavez, or Jenkins. No wait he is gone now. You pick.
@ HibbardsHustler
Seriously, what’s with the attachment to these empty labels?
Josh Donaldson is Josh Donaldson.
Why does he need to be officially anointed ‘face of the franchise’?
It seems your still not catching on to my comments. In one statement you say not to have a face of the franchise, in the next your saying look at Jeter as a face of the franchise and now your saying why Josh as a face.
I guess it wouldn’t make sense to make an MVP for a team who hasn’t had one in years their focal point and build around him and make him a selling point, aka face.
I mean Rogers is totally all about building a young fan base, why would they market anyone let alone the league MVP to make them money?
I think your trying to play a game of wits. Sorry me acting dumb confused you. Next time we can all have a round table about who should be the main focal point/selling point/face of the franchise and pick from a hat. I mean anyone cN be the face of a franchise right. That is what you said.
Let’s pick … My vote is for Donaldson ( league MVP )
You like … To try and sound smart … ( so no suggestion )
Shipiro … Well dollar signs
Rogers … Same as Shipiro
Hey you should create a blog. ” who is a face ”
I will follow it closely.
“I mean Rogers is totally all about building a young fan base, why would they market anyone let alone the league MVP to make them money?”
Why focus all your marketing on one player?
You seem to be dead set on doing that.
Just like the Yanks did with Jeter …
Oh wait, did you say that? That would be silly.
Your right why would we try and market the league MVP. My bad.
I see most of your posts on here, I know you just argue to try and sound smart. Let me give you a clue, saying different things in the same post is dumb. Most teams have a markee player, Trout, Harper, Price, Grenke.
Wow look at that all former MVP or CY young winners. Weird
Sorry, it doesn’t rain in the Rogers Centre.
Not $$$ that’s for sure ha ha ah
DONALDSON MAKES IT RAIN YA BISH
It does set a presidency for Bats and EE though. Two years at 15M for the MVP. Might show the Dominicans what the Jays have in mind for them. Would you pay more then your MVP for them?
Very smart move by the Jays. Pay him a little more for two years and save a little on the third year. If he doesn’t sign another multi year at the end of the deal they still have a whole year to work something out or to work out a trade for him.
i think the new donaldson deal is a good ones for true fans of the business. ensures the jays can control payroll going forward and create some good value for rogers shareholders. would hate to see an operating loss in the mid-term; might limit the ability to finish ahead of the orioles in the standings a year or two again. also, you can’t risk the careers of the FO or Wedgie. smart move by sharpie (errr..atkins?) keep in mind: still time to buy seasons’ tickets sports ball fans!
Does he have another year after this two year deal of arbitration?
Yes. I noted they could’ve struck a longer deal to buy all the arb years, but I’ll clarify it.
Nice work by the new Jays front office. I honestly believe Josh is the best overall player the jays have ever had, and that includes Roberto Alomar. Josh says the right things, he does the right things, he plays the right way, love watching this guy play ball. .
miss him so much. lucky for us A’s fans we have Lawrie. ..oh yeah no he’s gone too.
As a Jays fan, I respect the A’s organization a lot. However, Beane dealing JD for the headcase is beyond forgivable. We thank him, but that move should get you or some of your staff fired.
There were rumblings of differences between Beane and Donaldson over the GM going over the manager when Donaldson requested a day off, also, they’re are stories of Donaldson being a bit different in the locker room, the A’s needed pitching depth plus got a high upside 3rd baseman and a stud prospect in return, it turned out bad for the A’s but really, all things considered I can see how it happened.
Love JD, but better than HOF’er Alomar. Way too early to determine that. Right now i’d consider himm in the Bell, Delgado conversation. He has the potential to be the best but Alomar is the legend.
I just can’t see Josh ever spiriting on an umpire. I’m talking on and off the field, personality, attitude etc.
Spitting*
Okay relax , Donaldson is my favourite blue jay but to compare him to someone in the hall of fame is like comparing apples to oranges, JD has had 3 good years, Robby had a great career
three times as much per year as Arenado settled for.
LOL wut?
Arenado last 3 seasons : 13.6 WAR
Donaldson last 3 seasons: 23.6 WAR
Arenado is a fine player, but do you really think he’s comparable?
Actually Arenado is very comparable stat wise. Both are excellent defenders, but Arenado only really broke out with power this past year so his previous WAR is going to be lower. His age/service time means he is obviously also going to be making quite a bit less in arbitration compared to Donaldson who has been proven great over the past 3 years.
Arenado is at an earlier Arbitration stage than Donaldson. At the start of Arbitration, without a major award (Cy Young/MVP) you will start low and have to work your way up. Arenado is 2 years behind Donaldson on the Arbitration scale and thus he makes less. Also, this deal is designed to essentially take away having to go to Arbitration by giving Josh 11.65 (practically in the middle of what each side wanted this year) and 18 for next year which is close to what he would’ve made in Arbitration next year.
So technically this year, Donaldson is being 2 times as much, not 3. His salary is 11.65, not 15. It’s all a matter of where people are in their arbitration scale.
So Donaldson reaches Free Agency at the same time he would have otherwise. The jays save a few million, and look like they actually “signed” him to an “extension. hahaha. anyone thinking this is a “win” for anyone other than the front office or rogers shareholders needs a wakeup call. well…it’s pretty good for the man himself who is still in line to get paid by a team that respects its fans intelligence and wallets.
This is nothing more than to give some cost control to his arb years and also might be a token of good faith. Think of it as possible loyalty points the Jays might get from Donaldson when it comes to signing an extension.
you can argue it injects risk. the discount is minimal, and he may get injured, or not perform at the same level.
it comes off as a PR move for a beleaguered front office. JD has to be happy to have the money locked in, and still be on track to reach free agency at the same time and get the heck out of TOilet and move to a place where they can not only afford to pay their elite players, but actually do.
Who are these elite players the Jays haven’t been able to sign? The last Blue Jays superstar I remember leaving for free agency was Carlos Delgado.
Roy Halladay asked to be traded.
Someone’s mad their team didn’t make the playoffs last year
This is easily a way to avoid having to go to arbitration this year or next year. This will mean when they want to sign a long term deal together, they won’t have 3 years (after last year) of having gone through arbitration ripping each other apart in the back of their minds. This is a smart move. Gives the Jays 2 years to see what they have and work on his extension after that. And remember Josh is already 30. At the end of this deal, he’s 32 and we still control him for the year after that.
Wow JD got ripped. He deserves 25 MIL a year at least.
He probably does, but considering he won’t make that in arbitration, there is no reason for a team to buyout two arb years at market value. Market value would only apply in a contract that would buy out his arb years and at least two free agency years.
This is a good deal for the Jays. They get Donaldson for likely a slight discount over what he would have made in arbitration for 2016 and 2017 and the Jays have a reason to sit down and talk extension prior to his last year of arbitration in 2018. If Donaldson doesn’t perform or gets injured the Jays aren’t locked into some long crippling contract.
Seems 2-year deals are in vogue today.
Finally!! The blue Jays do something that makes sense.
WAR is not a very good stat to compare players with. in WAR Heyward is like the 5th best player in baseball and we all know that just isnt accurate. my comment was not a knock on donaldsons money so much as it was a knock on Arenado settling for such a puny amount.
Why is it that “we all know” Heyward isn’t as good as WAR suggests?
And re Arenado, he was a highly variable arb case as a Super Two. mlbtraderumors.com/2016/01/arbitration-breakdown-n… But, for whatever it’s worth, he settled for quite a bit more than Donaldson got last year as a Super Two (after losing his arb case).
Arenado was compared to JD first arb case during negotiations with the Rockies. If JD would have won last year arb case nolans would have been higher. Organizations like the Rockies low ball players they deem most comparable not who is actually comparable. nolan was offered 4.5 and he settled for 5. The point of arb should be to give market value to players while giving organizations player control. It’s not about settling over what a player won or lost in a previous arb case.
Did somebody say Donaldson is an excellent defender. Is he merely good. Arenado is excellent which in the day and age of defensive value is should be very comparable to Donaldson numbers.
Also nolan hit 22 home runs away and 20 at home. I don’t want to hear colors field bias
Heyward ranked 17th in fWAR in 2015 and 29th in fWAR in 2016. Where do you get that WAR has him top-five? He’s the consensus best defensive rightfielder in the sport and is a fine hitter – .268/.353/.431 is a fine hitter. He’s got a 118 wRC+ for his career, and that sat right around there at 121 in 2015.
He has a low strikeout rate – 14.8% in 2015, 18.5% for his career. He has a high walk rate – 10.8% career mark, 9.2% mark in ’15. He’s got a good enough batting average at .268 for his career and showed potential for more with a .293 mark in ’15, which was admittedly propped up by a slightly high BABIP. But he doesn’t strikeout much and hits for okay enough power – 97 career HR finishing his age-25 season – to have a fine AVG. He even steals bases, with 86 in his career and 23 this season. I just don’t know why people think all he is is a WAR product. Are people arguing with his defense? He’s got Gold Gloves (which are beginning to mean more) to back that up for traditionalists, and he’s got the advanced stats on his side.
Heyward’s defensive stats are all impressive. UZR has him at +96.2 for his career over a plentifully large sample. DRS has him even higher at 122. In SSS, both stats have him a touch above average in CF, too. Inside Edge’s fielding marks which have designations based on difficulty of the play have him good too. 9.5% at remote plays (1-10%), 60.6% on unlikely plays (10-40), 83.3% on even plays (40-60), 92.4% on likely plays (60-90) and 99.2 on routine plays (90-100). That’s a fantastic fielder if I’ve ever seen one. Even the Fan Scouting Report over at fangraphs which evaluates his tools on a first-hand basis, has him over 50 runs above the average defensive rightfielder. He’s a star defender and when combined with a solid power/speed combo of 97 HR and 86 SB in six seasons, a 118 wRC+, fine durability, a good eye and the ability to be better than average at striking out, Heyward’s a star.
I think the problem some people have with Heyward is that he is merely very good with the bat. Offensively, he is one of the more well rounded hitters. He just doesn’t seem to excell at anything except defense. He is a fine offensive producer which you have done a nice job showcasing in your post but is he a middle of the order bat? I would have to say no. He should be fine in the leadoff position but with just being an above average center fielder (which I am guessing is where the Cubs will put him) and with his batting stats to date does he really warrant that massive contract? I know others won’t like this comment but wouldn’t the Cubs have been better off resigning Fowler? Heyward and Fowler have had similar seasons with the bat the past couple of years and Fowler should be comparable to Heyward in center. I think Epstein might have made a slight mistake there. Only because of the size of the contract and moving Heyward to center. He is clearly superior to Fowler and could have some massive prime years ahead if he doesn’t opt out.
Cómo van a comparar a Arenado con Donaldson, tienen que fijarse en las estadísticas home/road y verán que Arenado es ayudado por Coors Fields, aunque Donaldson también por el Rogers Centre. J.D Martinez es buen jugador pero todavía no merece contrato que le asegure $ 25 M, es un riesgo asegurarle eso.
This deal is a good compromise. Josh gets guaranteed money, the team gets time to figure out what to do with Bautista and EE who are both FAs after 2016. They already have loads of money tied up with Tulo and Martin. Donaldson won’t hit FA until he’s 33 so there’s a healthy chance of decline. The window for the Jays is 2016 and 2017; and unless they take on a lot more payroll after 2016, they will likely need to let pieces go to maintain or tear things down after 2017. It will be interesting to watch how they proceed.
Billy Beane: ZERO World Series rings. And this terrible, worthless, stupid trade. Yeah…he’s overrated.
Sorry, but isn’t ironic that you are a Cubs fan ripping on an organization that hasn’t won a WS during BB’s tenure. Yet the Cubs haven’t won a WS in almost 100 years, and traded Donaldson for essentially 1.5 years of Rich Harden? So if Billy Bean is overrated, so is the entire Cubs organization according to you.
Logically, you are correct
Amazing. It’s fun to watch people get torn apart when they clearly don’t know enough 🙂
is heyward the 5th best player in baseball? i dint know anyone who thinks that, inclyding cub fans. i got heyward ranked between 20 and 25 best outfielders today. WAR is fun to look at, as all the lists are but it is not accurate in my opinion.
Yo pienso eso mismo, Heyward es bueno pero no tanto para considerarlo entre los mejores cinco jugadores!!
heyward .264 26 2B, 16 hr, 14 sb, 74 r, 58 rbi, 134 h. heywards season averages. a star? a nice little player is more like it. like alex gordon. similar averages per season over career. cub wanted to cut down on strikeouts where they could, heyward zobrist. heyward is another theo overpay.
Why is it that the smaller market division rivals Orioles are outhustling us by signing better quality players & spending more $$ this off season. They’re a much tougher opponent than last year & no one’s even acknowledging them. Last I heard they’re not done & are now pursuing Dexter Fowler. All this while we go after “has beens” like Craig Breslow & Gavin Floyd. This is pathetic!
He sucks now