As the offseason drew near, it became obvious that star third baseman Josh Donaldson could again be a major early target. Teams wishing for top-level production without the lengthy commitment will be vying for the veteran.
At least two clubs — the Rangers and Phillies — are already making their interest known, according to reports from Jeff Passan of ESPN (via Twitter) and Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). Both were among the best on-paper fits entering the open market, as we noted in the course of our list of the top fifty free agents.
Before those and other lurking organizations can put in their bids, Donaldson will have to formally decline the qualifying offer he was issued by the Braves. That’s a formality, but it’ll keep the offers off the table until November 14th. (Interested teams can chat with Donaldson’s reps in the meantime, it’s worth noting.)
[RELATED: 2019-20 Offseason Calendar]
Last winter, the Braves were able to lure Donaldson with a one-year, $24MM offer. But that came on the heels of an injury-riddled campaign for the former MVP, who more than made good on the hefty bet placed by the Atlanta organization with a strong and healthy 2019 season.
Donaldson is a month away from his 34th birthday. And he wasn’t quite at the height of his powers in the just-completed campaign. But he was an outstanding performer against any measure other than his own top-of-class ceiling. Over 659 plate appearances, Donaldson turned in a .259/.379/.521 batting line (132 wRC+) with 37 home runs and a healthy 15.2% walk rate.
It wasn’t just a return with the bat. Depending upon one’s defensive metric of choice, he was either a good or excellent performer at the hot corner, resulting in something like a 5 or 6 WAR season. If you’re not a fan of the glove grades … let’s just say the former Athletics and Blue Jays superstar pretty much looked like his old self in all respects.
Donaldson is a fiery leader who would certainly light a spark for these or other organizations. He’s also going to hit the market carrying draft compensation as an added cost of signing him. That always must be factored into an open-market offer, though it’s perhaps of particular note for the Rangers and Phillies. The former team is arguably not quite ready for a full push for contention, though the new Texas field (synthetic though it may be) could desperately use some of the rain that Donaldson is wont to bring. As for the Phils, they’re putting out word that they’re loath to surrender more draft picks this offseason. There may be something to that, but it’s also plainly a wiser public statement than last winter’s unintentional slogan.
Hes a great player and he was pretty healthy last season but there’s needs to be some hesitation when dealing out 25+ mil for 3 or 4 years.
I am not sure if the Phillies can sign Donaldson their payroll is at 155 million right now. They need to sign at least two starting pitchers and a few relievers. They should sign Todd Frazier, Pablo Sandoval or Scotter Gennet. If they do sign Gennett allow Scott Kingery to play third base. Also, the Phillies can acquire a third baseman by a trade.
Scotty needs to play at 2B. They need to stop moving him around the diamond and let him play his natural position. I like Moustakas or Jose Iglesias (assuming he would want to take on 3B full time). Todd Frazier is another guy I like, just so long as Arrieta doesn’t put a dent in his skull.
I agree. Too expensive and pitching is our main priority here. Especially when Bohm can be a late call up (or if moose gets hurt). Moose can be had for 10-12 mil 1 yr or 2 yr 20 mil (and trade him next off season when Bohm is ready) but primarily aiming for 1 yr deal. Donaldson makes NO sense
i agree about kingery and i think that’s why he scuffled so much to start his career. plug him in at 2nd and let him do his thing everyday. as for the rest, i dont think iglesias hits enough to be a 3B regularly and if ur gonna sign frazier u may as well stick with franco tbh. moose makes the most sense both positionally and lineup wise
You are right. I said Frazier because Moose’s salary will be higher annually. I would like to see Moustakas with the Phillies, but the rotation and bullpen should be the priority. After addressing the rotation and the bullpen I would try to look for a third baseman depending of the payroll for 2020. That’s the way I would do it.
If you can find a way to shed Segura’s salary… It can work…
Where’s all this fascination with Todd Frazier coming from? He’s no better than Franco. If 3B is to be upgraded, tell Cigar Guy to pony up the bucks for Rendon. Note: Arrieta’s $20+ million deal comes off the books after 2020. Bite the bullet in 2019 knowing that we have most of Rendon’s contract covered when Arrieta goes.
Rendon ought to get six years at about $25 million per year. My Plan B for 3B would be Donaldson for a year until Bohme is ready.
Rendon already turned down more from the Nats. He’s not signing with Philly for 6/150.
OH MAN THANKS FOR THE LAUGH
Todd Frasier is worse than Franco.
I’d be happy with Donaldson on a 2 year deal.
When the music stops for Donaldson, the FO that signs him to a multi-year contract will find that there’s no chair for them to sit on.
He was great for the Braves on a one-year contract. Anything can happen, but his is an extremely high-risk signing if it’s for even more then one year.
Think Troy Tulowitzki.
tulo had injuries through most of his season and didnt want to move off SS until it was too late, JD has really only been injured in 2 maybe 3 seasons. bad comparison
Agree Bob Dylan. One year at a time the rest of the way for Donaldson is the safe and best way to go.
Comparing JD to Tulo? That’s nonsense. I’m not saying anyone should sign JD to more than a 1 or 2 year contract because of his age and recent injury, but no way would I compare him to Tulo. Tulo was barely worth a minimum contract by the time he finally wound it down. JD will get $20MM or more, and should. Again, for at least a year or two.
No way am I suggesting that Donaldson craps out in a year.
Believe that Donaldson is at where Tulo was at 5 or so years before he finally gave it up. His decent came over a period of time. FO’s always thought he could come back stronger as he continued to decline….being paid big bucks.
With salaries being what they are, I’d be surprised if Donaldson doesn’t play at least another 5 years. He can easily pick up at least another $40-80m. But the injuries will very probably cut into what he can accomplish during that time. And like Tulo, the team paying him is always going to overpay for the production he gives them.
As for the Braves – suggest they don’t be greedy. They got a very good year out of him for the going rate. J.P. Morgan said his key to getting rich on the stock market – “I never try to sell at the top. I sell near the top. Leave some for the other guy.” In short – someone is going to be the bagholder on Donaldson. It’s inevitable.
He’s been injured once in his career and it spilled over from one season to the next. Tulo was injured time and time again.
I’d say between Troy and Adrian Beltre Beltre did fine after his 1 year deal maybe Donaldson can do that
Let him walk!
Donaldson is risky in my opinion. Wouldn’t want him on a deal longer than 2 years, but is it worth surrendering the pick for 1 or 2 years?
Phillies will depend 4 billion by time Harpers contract is over and have 0 rings.
Can you fault a team that is trying to win, unlike the Braves? Everyone keeps crediting the Braves for their success, yet fail every year when it matters most. AND they do nothing about it yearly.
What Nationals fans said before they won the world series.. When you have a team like the Braves, a true contender for a long time with the young core that they have, they’ll have a chance to win, year in and year out. And at the end of the day, that’s all you can ask from an organization.
Nationals did everything in their power to win the World Series. It took them a while but they got it done. They signed Max S and later Corbin to make their rotation formidable. The Braves have and will have a bottom 10 rotation heading into next season and most likely years after because they don’t spend even when great options are available.
They didn’t go after Harper because they knew that another 10 year success is almost impossible to accomplish so they went in a different direction rather than bring back Harper for another 10 years,
ATL team ERA (MLB rank):
2019: 10
2018: 7
Bottom 10 with Soroka? Who is going to get regular IPs and weight down that team ERA when Soroka’s doing his stuff?
the difference between what the nats have been doing and what the braves are doing is the nats went out and spent in FA to surround their core with additional talent to push them further. the braves have yet to spend to supplement their core talent
winning in the playoffs is random. There is no recipe for success. All a team can do is make the postseason and hope they get lucky.
You’re commenting on a page for a guy that ATL just benefited having for 1 year and getting MVP-caliber numbers from. Donaldson was the largest AAV for ATL ever. Spending enough and “nothing about it” is a vast difference – and any Braves fan would know it.
Benefitted from what? Another division title and getting embarrassed in the first round again? They went with JD because they learned quickly that another one of their overrated prospects did not project to be a starter on opening day (Riley)…and right they were. A lot of that decision has also to do with the previous relations between the two (JD and AA). Conversations may have gone a different way otherwise.
Their next crop of prospects has either disappointed this season or regressed (mainly the pitching). Cole is available but he is wayyyyy to expensive for them even though they said they will spend when ready. Until they spend big, they are not going for it and by going for it, I mean win a WS, not a worthless division title.
You’re crying over Harper, but we’re done with Donaldson’s deal, went further than PHI and could actually end up with a draft pick out of it, while having back-to-back division titles. Sure, that’s not enough, but considering they’re the top-4 youngest MLB team and already have playoff experience with 3 Silver Sluggers — that’s a great foundation that I’m glad someone like Harper isn’t a part of. Would love to see Rendon added if we’re talking about ultra-deals.
crying over Harper? Who?
I agree Rendon will be a great option and like Cole, it will mean they are going for it.
Again, it might be important to you that they are young and won worthless awards, but guess what? The Nats won the ultimate award and they so happen to be one of the oldest clubs in the sport.
Oh, you thought I was upset the Braves didn’t go after Harper. Nah man! I was referring to the perspective of the Nats and why they did not bring him back. I never said, nor wanted Harper as a Brave.
“Nationals did everything in their power to win the World Series.”
The Braves haven’t, and that cannot be disputed.
BumgarnerEquals nailed it with that one sentence.
Spending money on free agents or long term contracts that do not work out 90% of the time guarantees you nothing. You’re commenting on a Phil’s article and they are a prime example of that. How’d that “stupid money” they spent last year work out for them? You can’t buy titles. AA is doing a perfect job of making sure the Braves will remain competitive for a long time. All that remains is getting hot at the right time one year like the Nats did this year. The Braves simply clinched and peaked a little too early.
So you are assuming the Phillies will not win a WS in the next 5 years just basing it on 1 year while spending money? Yet, you also assume the Braves will just because they are young, but won’t spend?
Why “will” the Braves remain competitive for a long time? Where is the guarantee in that? They won the division because of the rest of the teams underachieved and they beat up on the Marlins. Losing to the terrible Cards team is all you the proof you need to know this team is not a championship-caliber team. Given the predictable direction this team will go, there is zero reason to believe that will change.
You’re obviously new to this baseball thing. ANYTHING can happen in a short 5 game series. Especially when your 3 hole hitter is struggling with an injury and a key setup man gets hurt before ever throwing a pitch. Also the Braves were not playing well when the playofffs started. No way you can tell me the Nats were a better team top to bottom than the Dodgers. No chance. Normally the teams that are hot going into the playoffs are the teams that do the best.
Obviously there are not guarantees in baseball or life. But I like my chances to win a World Series in the next 5 years with the way the Braves are set up MUCH better than the Phil’s. And it’s not really rocket science to look at the two teams and see that.
You are right. Anything can happen in a short 5 game series. I guess the Braves have the worst luck then because nothing went there way in the last 15 or whatever first round/WC exits in the last 2 decades, with a common denominator that they never spend money.
“Phillies will depend 4 billion…” What?
Infer -verb- to draw a conclusion, as by reasoning.
Example: “Phillies will depend 4 billion…” I infer he must have meant “spend” not “depend”.
This has the feel of a “Josh Hamilton” type deal where someone will vastly overpay Donaldson based on his MVP from several years earlier. I like Donaldson as a player, but no way would I give him long term money.
Except Hamilton was a recovering alcoholic/drug addict that couldn’t stay sober. JD has none of that baggage.
Back to the Braves for 2 years $50 mil. Maybe even toss in a $5 mil buyout for the 2nd year in case he falls off a cliff…a la Jose Bautista.
Third year option.
Rangers are too far off for Donaldson to win anything with them. Phillies make much more sense, as Rendon does on a long term deal with Texas. Rendon also works for the Phillies, which would be weird to see him pair with Harper again, but would definitely make the Phillies scarier.
I think they are closer than you think, lots of young talent in the lower ends of the farm. Plus a fair shot at an internal 1B big bat (Sam Huff). Maybe not next year, but 2021 start looking for Texas in that division.
MVP Josh would be a great fit for the Rangers
He definitely did his part on that pillow contract. Granted 24 million is a hefty pillow contract but he was wise to accept and he played his way into a longer term pact
I’ll take my chances with Bohm. JD is too old. And not worth a draft pick for 1 or 2 years. Sign or trade for pitching. If they trade Bohm, then target a 3B, but still Franco is cheap and will get 20-25HRs.
Franco is terrible. Time to move on
Donaldson hasn’t done too badly for a 48th round draft pick!
Drafted in 2007 1st rd (48th overall) by CHC
48th even tho there are only 30 teams. Old sandwich pick system makes that look dumb.
The Rangers would be interesting considering Donaldson doesn’t like Odor at all.
That may be why they are interested; Donaldson is the one guy that won’t put up with Odor’s crap. He might be the reason Odor turns his career around. He really needs a strong personality to be on him constantly.
Nah, all that stuff is long in the past. Most of the problems were with Joey Bats. You guys remember who the reliever was that got ejected for plunking Prince Fielder in that game? It was Jessie Chavez, who now pitches for Texas. If the Rangers offered a good deal I think Donaldson would take it, as well he should.
Phils gonna lose 3 picks this year lol
Better 3 in one year than 3 years in a row? Though I think they will have now done that as well…
they lost their 2nd last year yeah. i agree though, multiple in one year is better. it seems like this team can only draft in the 2nd though. maybe they can persuade the league to take their 1st instead.
Texas was missing a presence in the clubhouse with Beltre gone – Donaldsons edge might be good not to mention a right handed bat.
Get better pitching offense is fine for the time being worry about that and 3b later
Sign Rendon and then go middle-of-the-road on FA pitching (Bumgarner, Wheeler, Teheran, Keuchel). No need to spend big bucks on Cole or Strasburg. Pitchers eventually break your heart.
Most important goal for Phils is to get Kingery to play every day 2d base. Two very good pitchers are next priority. Paquito Lindor would be amazing get with longer term deal. Segura will bring a decent relief pitcher. Put Franco through boot camp. Get him in “shape” which is his real problem. He stays at 3B until Alec Bohm is ready. Finally, Hoskins.? This is the the Phils’ real puzzle. When he is on, he is offensive piece. It appears though that this comes with long slumps that last and last. Kills the team and for this reason it would be best to reluctantly find a trade partner now. Value is there but soon will be gone once the league realizes his shortcomings. Now you have Bohm for first down the road. Dickerson can play first base and he hits about as consistently as anyone on the market. Thats my two cents.
The Phillies can’t trot Maikel Franco out there again. Times up. We’ve seen this movie way too many times and the ending doesn’t change
LC I agree on the Franco situation but Segura isn’t the one blocking Kingery. Cesar is the one it’s time to move on from. I say that as a fan of Hernandez. He does hold some trade value too……
I wouldn’t mind seeing the following;
1. See if the Tigers would take Franco, Hernandez and Pivetta
(and maybe some cash), for Boyd
2. Sign Moustakas to 3B on a 2 yr deal, with a buy out after year
one to move Bohm up
3. Sign Bumgardner and Wheeler or Hamels
4. Move Kingery to 2B / Utilize Haseley in CF
Rotation is Nola, Wheeler or Hamels, Bumgardner, Boyd and Pivetta. (not exactly in this order)
Just tossing some ideas around.
Correction, the rotation would have Eflin, not Pivetta
Ok…I know I am in the vast minority, but just keep Franco and save the money for pitching. Sure he’s not Mike Schmidt or Scott Rolen, but he’s not that much worse than Dave Hollins or Pedro Feliz, the guys that occupied the hot corner for the last two WS teams. If it happens that it would boil down to Franco being the difference between the playoffs or no playoffs, then there were other problems. Pitching,Pitching.Pitching…….don’t waste money on a 10 year old BMW with 150,000 miles on it when your house roof leaks and the garage is falling down….
From what I say and heard about Bohm’s fielding the guy may eventually be forced to play 1B. He is not a good fielder. So I don’t mind the Phillies looking to upgrade 3rd.