Matt Holliday

Matt Holliday Resigns As Cardinals’ Bench Coach; Joe McEwing Hired As Replacement

By Steve Adams and Darragh McDonald | January 12, 2023 at 12:20pm CDT

The Cardinals announced Thursday that Matt Holliday has resigned from his position as the team’s bench coach. He’ll be replaced by Joe McEwing, who’s spent the past 15 years on the White Sox’ coaching staff. It’s a surprising announcement, given that Holliday was only hired to the post back in early November. Both Bob Nightengale of USA Today and Katie Woo of The Athletic suggest that Holliday’s decision came down to a matter of wanting to spend more time with his family (Twitter links).

Holliday, 43 this weekend, played in the big leagues from 2004 to 2018, donning a Cardinals uniform for much of that time. It thus made for an exciting return to the franchise when it was reported in November that he would take over the bench coach job that was left vacant when Skip Schumaker left to become manager of the Marlins.

However, with Spring Training now just over the horizon, it appears that Holliday has had a change of heart. Instead of returning to the MLB life of constantly being on the move from roughly January/February through October/November, he will choose a less-nomadic path and spend more time with his family. Holliday has four children with the eldest of those four, Jackson Holliday, having just been selected by the Orioles with the first overall pick in the 2022 draft.

As for McEwing, 50, he spent some time with the Cardinals as a player back in 1998 and 1999. He went on to suit up for the Mets, Royals and Astros. He’s since transitioned into coaching, starting in the minor leagues of the White Sox system in 2008. He jumped up to the big league team for the 2012 season, spending time as third base coach and bench coach through 2022.

Matt Holliday Returns To Cardinals As Bench Coach

By Simon Hampton | November 6, 2022 at 8:19pm CDT

Former Cardinal Matt Holliday will return to the team he spent eight seasons playing for, signing on as bench coach under manager Oliver Marmol, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The team has also promoted Dusty Blake to pitching coach, while Turner Ward will take over as hitting coach.

Holliday, 42, last appeared in the big leagues in 2018, and has been recently coaching at Oklahoma State with his brother. He hit 156 home runs for the Cardinals between 2009-16, going to the All-Star game four times and earning MVP votes in four of his seasons there. Originally drafted by the Rockies in the seventh round of the 1998 draft, Holliday spent six years in Colorado, including a memorable 2007 season. That year he hit .340/.405/.607 with 36 home runs and finished second in NL MVP voting. The Rockies traded him to Oakland in 2009 with Holliday one year away from free agency, but when the Athletics scuffled that year he was traded to the Cardinals at the deadline. He went to free agency that winter, but re-signed with the Cardinals on a seven-year, $120MM deal, continuing what would be a memorable time with the Cardinals which included a championship in 2011.

He’d gone on to have a season with the Yankees, before retiring in 2018 after a short second stint with the Rockies. There had been speculation that the Cardinals would turn to him as their hitting coach, but instead he’ll wind up as bench coach in Marmol’s overhauled staff.

Current assistant hitting coach Turner Ward will instead assume the hitting coach responsibility. He replaces Jeff Albert, who elected not to return for another season in 2023. Ward spent twelve years in the big leagues between 1990-2001, appearing for six teams. He worked with the Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Reds in various coaching positions, before the Cardinals hired him as their assistant hitting coach a year ago.

Blake, 40, worked as a pitching coach at Duke university, before the Cardinals hired him prior to the 2021 season. He had been working as the team’s pitching strategist, but is promoted to the pitching coach role after Mike Maddux’s departure.

Cardinals Notes: Arenado, Holliday, Coaching Staff

By Anthony Franco | October 31, 2022 at 3:32pm CDT

Perhaps the biggest offseason question facing the Cardinals was resolved over the weekend when Nolan Arenado informed the team he would bypass his chance to test the free agent market. He’ll play out the final five years and $144MM on his deal with St. Louis, staying with the Cards through 2027.

The star third baseman would almost certainly have found a stronger financial offer if he hit the open market. He’s likely to be an NL MVP finalist after arguably the best season of his career, a .293/.358/.533 showing paired with his typical elite defense. Even heading into his age-32 campaign, he had a strong case for a six-year deal that bested the $28.8MM average annual value remaining on his contract.

Arenado has maintained on a few occasions that he’s happy in St. Louis, however. He reiterated that sentiment in speaking with Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch about his decision over the weekend. “For me, to get traded to St. Louis was a very complicated deal and it wasn’t easy to get here,” Arenado told Goold. “There was a lot of time and effort put into it. It meant a lot to me they went that far beyond for me. I really appreciate their effort they took to get me here and I want to hold up my end of the bargain. Everything has been, for me since I’ve been here, better than I thought it would be.”

St. Louis made the postseason in each of Arenado’s first two seasons with the club, including an NL Central-winning team this year. Colorado reached the playoffs twice during his eight years on the roster, both times as a Wild Card entrant. Arenado spoke publicly about how meaningful he found it to be part of a division-winning roster in the immediate aftermath of St. Louis clinching the Central, and Goold writes he expressed that again during a sit-down with president of baseball operations John Mozeliak last week.

While the Cardinals have had plenty of regular season success over the last two years, they’ve gone 0-3 in the postseason and been dispatched from the playoffs quickly (first in the 2021 Wild Card game, then in the newly-implemented Wild Card series). Mozeliak and his staff will look to bolster the roster again this winter in hopes of positioning the team for a deeper postseason run. The Cards’ front office head told reporters last week that ownership had signed off on a payroll increase and highlighted catcher as an area the team would look to address over the coming months.

They’ll also work with manager Oliver Marmol about building a coaching staff that saw a trio of notable departures. Neither hitting coach Jeff Albert nor pitching coach Mike Maddux are returning in 2023, and bench coach Skip Schumaker departed to become the Marlins manager. That leaves St. Louis to fill three key voids, and they could look to a marquee name for one of those spots.

John Denton of MLB.com reported last week that Matt Holliday is expected to garner some consideration for the hitting coach vacancy. Holliday played for St. Louis from 2009-16, a tenure which included four trips to the All-Star game and four appearances on MVP balloting. He raked at a .293/.380/.494 clip over his eight seasons with the club.

Holliday last appeared in the big leagues in 2018 and currently coaches at Oklahoma State, where his brother Josh Holliday is the head baseball coach. Reports last offseason suggested Matt Holliday would have some interest in the St. Louis managerial vacancy that eventually went to Marmol. Whether he’d be willing to assume a spot on Marmol’s staff is unclear, but the 42-year-old left open the possibility in an appearance on Hot Take Central on 590 The Fan in St. Louis this morning (Twitter link with audio). Asked about the chance to replace either Schumaker or Albert as bench coach or hitting coach, Holliday noted he’s not yet heard from Mozeliak but indicated he was open to having a conversation.

“I haven’t spoken with Mo yet,” Holliday said. “I think there’s a chance that I will have a conversation about what that might look like. I’m not going to say ’no,’ but I’m not going to say ’yes’ either. I think I probably will, at some point, have a conversation with Mo and Oli about what that could look like — being part of the organization in some capacity. I’m not quite sure, I don’t have an answer just yet for you.” That’s hardly a firm declaration Holliday will rejoin the St. Louis franchise, but it raises the possibility of the seven-time All-Star being in touch with key Cards decision-makers this winter.

Latest On Cardinals’ Managerial Position

By Darragh McDonald | October 24, 2021 at 2:46pm CDT

The Cardinals recently shocked the baseball world by firing manager Mike Shildt, shortly after an incredible season in which a 17-game winning streak catapulted them into the postseason for a third consecutive year. Just a few days prior to that, it seemed like the club would take the opposite path and extend him beyond 2022, the last year of his contract. Instead, with the offseason now just about a week away, their plans for a Shildt-less future are not publicly known.

Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch took a look at the situation, reporting that Cardinals’ president of baseball operations John Mozeliak has internal candidates like Oliver Marmol and Stubby Clapp at the top of the list. Marmol has been with the organization as a coach for a decade now, as he became the hitting coach for the Gulf Coast League Cardinals in 2011. He then went on to manage the rookie-ball Johnson City Cardinals and the Class A-Advanced Palm Beach Cardinals. He’s been with the big league club since the 2017 season, serving as first base coach and then bench coach. Clapp spent some time coaching in the Astros’ and Blue Jays’ organizations, before joining the Cardinals as the manager for the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds for the 2017 season. He came up to the major league team as first base coach for the 2019 season. The fact that they are already in the Cardinals organization would mean Mozeliak is already familiar with their abilities, making them known quantities. However, the same was true of Shildt, who had been with the Cardinals in various capacities for over a decade before becoming manager after the firing of Mike Matheny in 2018. It’s unclear if Mozeliak wants to take that same path this time around.

Frederickson also throws out a couple of wildcards, reporting that Rick Renteria and Matt Holliday have make it known they are interested in the position. Renteria would bring some managerial experience, having been the bench boss for the 2014 Cubs then the White Sox from 2017 to 2020. Holliday, on the other hand, would bring no such experience at the big leagues, although he is currently listed as a volunteer assistant coach at Oklahoma State University, where his brother Josh is the head coach. Holliday was with the Cardinals as a player from 2009 to 2016. Hiring Holliday would come as a surprise, although it would mirror the hiring of Matheny in some ways. When Matheny was hired in 2011, he was also just a few years removed from his playing days and had no previous big league coaching experience.

The Other Rockies’ Superstar Who Made St. Louis Home

By TC Zencka | January 31, 2021 at 12:03pm CDT

If the Cardinals are able to complete their acquisition of star third baseman Nolan Arenado – under the terms as we know them now – they’ll add the best defensive third baseman of his generation. Kyle Newman of the Denver Post pegs the Arenado deal as the biggest trade in Rockies’ franchise history. Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong certainly sounds pleased, saying on MLB Network Radio today (via Twitter), “…having a guy like Arenado in our lineup is going to completely change the way pitchers look at us.”

Arenado’s trophy case is full: five All-Star nominations, four Silver Slugger awards, and a Gold Glove for every season in the Majors (eight). A career .293/.349/.541 hitter, Arenado has created 39.1 bWAR/32.3 fWAR with a solid 7.9 percent career walk rate and solid 15.0 percent career strikeout rate. Though 2020 was a down year offensively, he became one of the toughest hitters in the game to strikeout, doing so in only 10.0 percent of his plate appearances.

All that said, he would head to Busch Stadium III with the usual caveats of a player leaving Coors Field. Namely: can he hit outside of Coors?

Paul Goldschmidt can walk Arenado through the transition from face-of-the-franchise in the west to being just “one of the guys” crashing at Yadi Molina’s house. But to preview the shock-to-the-system Arenado may face taking his hacks so much closer to sea level, we can go a little further back to another Rockies’ superstar who went east for the latter half of his career: Matt Holliday.

Holliday averaged 154 wRC+ per season during his first five years at Coors Field, his age-24 to age-28 seasons (2004 to 2008). Over that same time span he posted 105 wRC+ on the road. For his part, Arenado is a career 128 wRC+ hitter at home and 108 wRC+ hitter away from Coors.

Visual learners can check this Fangraphs chart for his home/road splits by age, then do the same for Holliday. Holliday’s splits look nearly the same through age-30 before converging at the point in his career that Arenado faces now: 30 years-old and permanently changing his address from Denver to St. Louis.

As you can see in that chart, Holliday’s overall wOBA follows a fairly traditional aging curve. Playing at Coors Field, however, can warp the shape of that production. As this March article from the Athletic’s Nick Groke covers in detail, the Coors Field dilemma isn’t just about how fast the balls fly through Colorado’s thin air, but how much sharper the breaks appear to hitters on the road. As much as Coors helps a hitter’s numbers (more than a normal home split), playing away from Coors hurts (more than a normal road split).

To think in terms of wRC+, it might just be that the Arenado who arrives in St. Louis will no longer be a 128 wRC+ hitter at home and a 108 wRC+ hitter on the road – but he could still be a 118 wRC+ hitter overall.

Or at least, that was Holliday’s path. Over his seven years in St. Louis, his home/road splits stabilized. He would average 133 wRC+ on the road and 142 wRC+ per season at home. On the whole, he arguably became a better hitter with 133 wRC+ during his five seasons in Colorado compared to 139 wRC+ in his seven full seasons in St. Louis. Does that mean Arenado will do the same? Of course not. Just because Holliday stayed largely healthy and productive past his prime years doesn’t mean that Arenado will do the same.

Holliday and Arenado tracked mirroring paths to the Show-Me State. Holliday’s age-29 season was anomalous for his career in terms of the playing conditions – just like Arenado. Whereas Arenado had to deal with a 60-game season in a pandemic-wracked world, Holliday faced the equally jarring reality of moving from Coors Field to Oakland’s spacious Coliseum. I kid, but Holliday’s half-season in Oakland stands out as a singularly odd year on Holliday’s resume in terms of the conditions relative to the rest of his career. If Arenado stays in St. Louis the length of his contract, he’ll be in Cardinal red for seven seasons from age 30 to 36 – the exact length of stay Holliday enjoyed in the Gateway to the West.

On the other hand, they aren’t the exact same type of hitter. While both are right-handed sluggers, Holliday had a little more in common with Goldschmidt than Arenado. Holiday was a worm killer even in his era. As a Rockie, Holliday logged a 1.38 groundball-to-flyball rate, whereas Arenado’s 0.87 GB/FB rate reflects the fact that he hits the ball in the air more than Holliday ever did. Compared to the rest of the league, Holliday hit the ball on the ground more than the average player throughout his career. Arenado can’t even see him from so far down the other end of that spectrum.

Holliday sprayed the ball to all fields a little more than Arenado, who leans pull side with 41.8 percent pull percentage to 23.1 percent opposite field for his career. Theoretically, that could hurt Arenado, as Busch tends to be a good singles and triples park for righties while suppressing offense in most other regards, per Park Factors at Swish Analytics. At least he’ll have a shorter porch in left to target, for what that’s worth.

Will Arenado adapt to his new confines? Ask Holliday, who not only tread this path before but was teammates with Arenado in 2018. He offers nothing but praise, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Besides, Arenado’s glove should continue to be an exceptional asset. While age may diminish his abilities at the hot corner somewhat, he has a lot of wiggle room before even entering the stratosphere of any other third baseman outside, maybe, Matt Chapman. With DeJong on his left, he shouldn’t even face much of an adjustment there. DeJong may be one of the few defensive shortstops who can rival Trevor Story’s competence on that end.

Arenado is heading from an organization that has never won its division to one of the game’s premier, trademark franchises. He’s leaving the NL West, where the Dodgers and Padres are readying for what could be an epic divisional bloodbath – and he’s joining the NL Central, where contenders are being broken down and sold for parts. It might be a jarring move for Arenado, but he can always look back and take comfort in the fact that this trail has been blazed before – and it worked out quite well. Remember, it was only their second full season together that Holliday and the Cardinals won the World Series.

NL West Notes: Arenado, Rockies, Flores, D-backs, Giants

By Steve Adams and Jeff Todd | January 17, 2019 at 11:15am CDT

Rockies GM Jeff Bridich largely declined an opportunity to discuss the state of the team’s contract talks with star third baseman Nolan Arenado, as MLB.com’s Thomas Harding writes. Bridich says the club is content to “keep things under wraps, under our hat for now” as it continues to try to work out a 2019 salary — and, perhaps, a long-term deal — with the club’s top player. The general manager did say that the Rox will not “set any deadlines or ultimatums,” though that comment may relate more to the still-unresolved arbitration case than extension talks. Arenado and the team still need to bridge a $6MM gap to stave off a hearing, as he filed at $30MM against the team’s $24MM submission. It’s still anyone’s guess whether there’ll be any real traction in discussions on a lengthier accord, but it’ll unquestionably cost a pretty penny to get the 27-year-old to forego a chance at testing the open market next winter.

Here’s more out of Denver and the NL West…

Also from Harding’s piece, Bridich stated that the Rockies “haven’t been overly aggressive” in the outfield market. Fans hoping for a reunion with Matt Holliday will be disheartened to see that the GM characterized the franchise icon as a tougher fit on the current roster than he was when he was signed late in the 2018 season and enjoyed a brief comeback tour. Presently, Charlie Blackmon and David Dahl look like locks for regular outfield work. Ian Desmond, Raimel Tapia and Noel Cuevas will also slot in around the outfield, though Cuevas has options remaining, so it seems conceivable that the Rox could make a move if a palatable bargain presents itself.
There are “indications” that the Diamondbacks plan to utilize newly signed Wilmer Flores as their second baseman in 2019, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Doing so would allow them to shift Ketel Marte to the outfield as their new primary center fielder. It’d be an unfamiliar position for Marte, but the move is something that’s been discussed for some time now. (The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan noted as much all the way back in October). As Piecoro notes, the D-backs’ defensive alignment figures to look quite a bit different; Jake Lamb is slated to move across the diamond to first base following the trade of Paul Goldschmidt, with Eduardo Escobar slotting in as the primary third baseman. Nick Ahmed (shortstop), Flores (second base) and Marte (center field) could line up on the middle of the diamond, with David Peralta and Steven Souza Jr. flanking Marte in center.
The Giants may use the “opener” strategy at times in 2019 but won’t be among the league’s most aggressive teams with it, writes Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. Madison Bumgarner, Derek Holland and Jeff Samardzija will all be treated as traditional starters, though Schulman notes that president of baseball ops Farhan Zaidi has recently expressed a desire to manage the workloads of younger arms like Dereck Rodriguez and Andrew Suarez “for their future and for ours.” Schulman’s column explores multiple avenues to achieving that goal and features multiple quotes from Zaidi and skipper Bruce Bochy on the pitching staff that Giants fans will surely want to check out in full. Schulman also reiterates that it’s still possible the Giants could explore trades of either Will Smith or Tony Watson as they seek additional rotation and outfield options. Both lefty relievers can become free agents next offseason.

NL Notes: Rockies, Cardinals, Nationals

By TC Zencka | November 24, 2018 at 12:24pm CDT

Nolan Arenado projects to head up the 2019-20 free agent class, and Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post finds similarities with Matt Holliday’s departure from the franchise a decade ago. Holliday explained to Saunders why he found the Rockies’ final contract extension offer “disappointing,” while former GM Dan O’Dowd also provided his contrasting recollection of the situation.

Holliday also took part in a fascinating lunch with members of the St. Louis Cardinals coaching crew recently. Manager Mike Shildt, bench coach Oliver Marmol and new hitting coach Jeff Albert shared a chance meal with Holliday at the Cardinals’ training facility in Jupiter, Florida where Holliday spends his offseason. Per the Athletic’s Bernie Miklasz, the foursome spent their lunch session talking hitting approaches, data usage and baseball philosophy. Specifically, Shildt hopes to improve the Cardinals contact rates this season, hence the hiring of Albert, who specializes in helping players refine their approach at the plate. One interesting exercise Albert used in his former post with the Astros involved making hitters verbally identify a pitch as a ball or a strike during batting practice. With repetition, Houston players improved in their ability to accurately differentiate balls from strikes. Shildt began shifting the Cardinals to a more contact-oriented approach when he replaced Mike Matheny last season, but this year he’ll have reinforcements in his efforts to further decrease the Cardinals’ strikeout rate.
Pete Kerzel of MASNsports.com suggests the Nationals might not be finished in their search for a frontline catcher, despite the recent signing of Kurt Suzuki. The 35-year-old backstop may easily give the Nats 50 to 60 games behind the dish, but few teams employ a true workhouse catcher nowadays and Suzuki might be better suited as the lesser half of a catching tandem. Kerzel imagines the possible ways in which GM Mike Rizzo might pair Suzuki with Yasmani Grandal, J.T. Realmuto or Wilson Ramos, though he admits it is equally likely the Nationals head into next season with Suzuki atop the depth chart. Considering Suzuki was arguably the top option available this winter outside the big three listed above, it would be quite the coup for the Nats to come away with another top option at this juncture. Still, durability concerns for a 35-year-old backstop aren’t wholly unreasonable.

Matt Holliday Intends To Play In 2019

By Steve Adams | November 7, 2018 at 6:10pm CDT

On the heels of a productive late-season comeback with the Rockies in 2018, veteran outfielder/designated hitter Matt Holliday is aiming to suit up again for the 2019 season, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Holliday, 39 in January, didn’t sign last offseason and waited just before the non-waiver trade deadline to sign a minor league contract to return to the Rockies. He joined the Rox for a September call-up and gave the club 65 plate appearances of quality overall offense. In that short time, Holliday hit .283/.415/.434 with two homers, two doubles and 12 walks against 18 strikeouts. He added a walk and another pair of hits, including a double, in nine postseason plate appearances.

Certainly, Holliday’s time as an elite corner outfielder looks to be in the rear-view mirror as he winds down a brilliant career which, to date, has spanned 15 years. His contact skills and power have faded since he was an annual lock for 25 to 35 home runs with the Rockies and Cardinals, but Holliday could still provide a team with some pop off the bench and take occasional reps in left field or at designated hitter. He also made 18 appearances at first base from 2016-17 with the Cards and Yankees, so he could perhaps be a reserve option there as well.

Generally speaking, aging corner bats haven’t fared well on the free-agent market in recent seasons, but Holliday and agent Scott Boras presumably won’t have a lofty asking price given the fact that the slugger sat out nearly all of the 2018 season. It’s not clear whether Holliday is open to signing another minor league deal and competing for a roster spot in Spring Training, but if he’s willing to do so, there could be multiple such opportunities.

NL Notes: Rockies, Bader, Cardinals, Marlins

By Steve Adams | October 8, 2018 at 9:25am CDT

The Rockies’ Game 3 loss to the Brewers not only bounced them from the 2018 postseason but may also have marked the end of the Colorado tenure for a number of impending free agents, Kyle Newman of the Denver Post writes. Second baseman DJ LeMahieu and setup man Adam Ottavino could land with new cubs this winter, as could outfielders Carlos Gonzalez, Gerardo Parra and Matt Holliday. The 30-year-old LeMahieu said after the loss that he’d like to return, though there’s hardly any certainty that the Rox will make a concerted effort to retain him. Trevor Story has a firm grip on the shortstop role, while the Rockies have top middle-infield prospect Brendan Rodgers also looming in the upper minors and another young option in Garrett Hampson. And, as Newman points out with regard to Ottavino, the bullpen already has three large contracts in Wade Davis, Jake McGee and Bryan Shaw, even if each of those three relievers took a step back in 2018 after inking a three-year pact this past offseason. Meanwhile Scott Oberg stepped up as a cost-effective potential replacement for Ottavino.

Here’s more from the NL to kick off the week…

Center field has been a position of extreme turnover for the Cardinals in recent seasons, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but Harrison Bader’s exceptional defensive prowess gives hope for some much-needed continuity. The last player to make consecutive Opening Day starts for the Cardinals in center field was Peter Bourjos, Goold notes, and no Cardinal has started 100-plus games in center in consecutive seasons since Jon Jay. “He’s sort of taken that job and run with it,” GM Mike Girsch tells Goold. “The way Harrison plays center field defensively makes it pretty obvious he’s the best defensive center fielder that we have, and he’s hit more than well enough to earn the first shot.” Bader still needs to improve his offensive consistency — specifically, his output against breaking balls — but after after being declared by Girsch as the team’s center fielder moving forward, the 24-year-old should have an extended chance to do so.
After acquiring additional international bonus allotments in a weekend trade with the Reds, the Marlins are exploring the trade market for opportunities to further pad their bonus pool, reports MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. It’s not yet clear how much money Miami added to what was already baseball’s second-largest bonus pool ($4.3MM) with their latest move, but they’re still looking up at the Orioles, who carry a reported $6.7MM. Miami and Baltimore have the most money available to sign Cuban outfielder Victor Victor Mesa and both are widely expected to make aggressive pitches to the 22-year-old.

Quick Hits: Donaldson, Holliday, Rangers, Perez, Cubs, Hamels

By Connor Byrne | August 25, 2018 at 10:25pm CDT

Injured Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson will be eligible to go on August trade waivers if he embarks on a rehab assignment, but “it appears unlikely” that’s going to happen, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets. Donaldson has been out since the end of May with a calf strain, which has stopped the out-of-contention Blue Jays from dealing him as he closes in on free agency. If Toronto’s unable to trade Donaldson this month, it’ll have to keep him through season’s end and then decide before the market opens whether to issue the soon-to-be 33-year-old a qualifying offer (worth $17.4MM last winter). Donaldson was among the majors’ best players as recently as last year, which suggests the Blue Jays will tender him a QO, though multiple DL stints this season have limited him to 36 games and an unspectacular .234/.333/.423 line in 159 plate appearances.

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