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Josh Donaldson

Indians Could Activate Josh Donaldson On Tuesday

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Injured third baseman Josh Donaldson appears to be closing in on his Cleveland debut. If all goes well for Donaldson over the next few days, expectations are that the Indians will activate him from the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday, Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com reports. In the meantime, the plan is for Donaldson to play third at the Double-A level on Saturday and then go through a workout prior to the Indians’ series in Tampa Bay, which begins Monday.

Not only has a calf strain kept Donaldson off a major league diamond since May 28, but it has prevented him from garnering much rehab work in minor league games. He has only totaled 15 minor league plate appearances this year, three of which have come with the Indians’ Triple-A affiliate.

Because Donaldson has barely seen the field over the past three-plus months, his trade value prior to the non-waiver deadline in July and the waiver version in August significantly diminished. As a result, the Blue Jays nearly ended up retaining Donaldson through the season but ultimately dealt the former MVP (and cash considerations) right before last month’s deadline. Toronto parted with Donaldson for a player to be named later – reportedly Indians minor league right-hander Julian Merryweather – in lieu of keeping the pending free agent and issuing him a qualifying offer in the offseason.

If he’s able to avoid a setback in the coming days and return to the field for Cleveland, it’s anyone’s guess what Donaldson will provide the soon-to-be AL Central champions. The 32-year-old was a superstar-caliber player from 2013-17, but along with his injury woes this season, he has dealt with a decline in production. Donaldson has batted an unspectacular .234/.333/.423 in 2018, though that output has come over a small sample of 158 plate appearances.

The Indians are left to hope the previous version of Donaldson will reappear over the next several weeks, and if he’s healthy enough to stay in their lineup, third baseman/MVP candidate Jose Ramirez will shift to second base and second baseman Jason Kipnis will move to the outfield. And Donaldson, in addition to trying to help the Indians win a World Series, will attempt to up his stock as a trip to the open market looms.

Josh Donaldson’s Agency Disputes Report Of Previous Extension Offer

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Earlier today, Fancred’s Jon Heyman reported that despite previous reports to the contrary, the Blue Jays did indeed make an extension offer to Josh Donaldson back in Spring Training — one that would have been worth more than Jake Arrieta’s three-year, $75MM free-agent deal with the Phillies. Per that report:

“[W]ord is the Jays extended an offer for more than the three-year, $75 million deal the Phillies gave to free agent pitcher Jake Arrieta, another major star older than 30. … However, word is that after Donaldson initially seemed willing to continue talks, bringing brief hope for a deal, ultimately his camp suggested a figure range that put the sides far apart enough that talks discontinued.”

Donaldson’s agent, Dan Lozano of the MVP Sports Group, took the extraordinarily rare measure of issuing an on-record statement disputing the report and questioning the motives behind it:

“Just as in February, when Jon Heyman mis-reported information ’according to friends’ of Josh Donaldson, he once again is incorrect regarding contract negotiations between Josh and the Blue Jays. The fact is that the team never extended an offer to Josh, no years or dollars were ever specifically discussed, and it’s unfair to Josh for someone to repeatedly misrepresent his business affairs citing their ’beliefs.’ This is not the first time Jon has been reckless in his reporting about an MVP Sports Group client, and I believe it’s clear his motivations have less to do with the truth than they do with his other agenda.”

Some may speculate on the possibility of semantics being utilized to downplay the reported talks here, but this type of statement from an agency — at least made in such a public, on-record manner — is rarely, if ever seen. The previous report alluded to in today’s statement from Lozano is in reference to a February report on Donaldson’s asking price in extension talks which cited “friends” of Donaldson. Donaldson felt strongly enough about the report to dispute the matter directly on Twitter.

Today’s drama aside, it’s been a nightmare of a season for Donaldson, who was recently traded to the Indians in exchange for a player to be named later — widely reported to be righty Julian Merryweather — despite the fact that he hasn’t played a game since late May due to a calf injury. Shoulder problems also shelved Donaldson early in the season and impacted his ability to throw across the diamond even when he was on the field. The earning power that Donaldson once had, when he was viewed as a potential candidate for a nine-figure contract, has largely dried up as a result. While he’ll still undoubtedly find plenty of interest this offseason, the question of whether he’ll even receive multi-year offers is up for debate. Of course, none of that was known when contract negotiations — such as they were — took place before the start of the season.

Blue Jays Will Reportedly Acquire Julian Merryweather As PTBNL In Josh Donaldson Trade

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The Blue Jays will acquire right-hander Julian Merryweather as the player to be named later in the Josh Donaldson trade, tweets Fancred’s Jon Heyman. Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com tweeted at the time of the deal that Merryweather “was rumored” to eventually be Toronto-bound, while Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweeted more recently that Merryweather “is expected” to eventually be announced as the PTBNL.

An official announcement doesn’t seem likely to happen until after the season. The 26-year-old Merryweather underwent Tommy John surgery during Spring Training and has spent the season on the minor league disabled list. Because he’s not healthy enough to begin a rehab assignment, he won’t be passed through waivers before the end of the season, so it seems that a formal announcement could yet be more than a month away.

Prior to the 2018 season, Baseball America ranked Merryweather 17th among Indians farmhands, praising a fastball that reaches 97 mph with regularity, an above-average but inconsistent changeup and another pair of potentially average breaking pitches (slider, curve).

Merryweather breezed through Double-A last year as a 25-year-old, pitching to a 3.38 ERA with a 52-to-10 K/BB ratio and a 48.9 percent ground-ball rate in 50 2/3 innings. He was too homer-prone in a later stint at Triple-A, leading to a 6.58 ERA, but his K/BB numbers and ground-ball tendencies remained strong. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen wrote shortly after his promotion to Triple-A last year that both his changeup and curveball could be plus offerings, calling Merryweather a potential mid-rotation starter.

While the Blue Jays will assuredly exercise caution when working Merryweather back from Tommy John surgery next spring, he’ll give the team an arm that could help either in the bullpen or in the rotation as soon as next summer. And, because Merryweather didn’t spent the 2018 season on the Major League disabled list, he didn’t accrue any MLB service time and will thus remain controllable through at least the 2024 season — if not the 2025 campaign.

That proximity to the Majors, it seems, was enough for the Jays to deem Merryweather a more appealing and more valuable piece than the draft pick they’d have received upon extending a qualifying offer to Donaldson and allowing him to test free agency. (Indeed, GM Ross Atkins told Sportsnet’s Arash Madani that the PTBNL is someone the organization considers to be an “exciting upper-level talent.”) It’s also possible, perhaps even likely, that the team simply didn’t feel comfortable making that type of offer to Donaldson on the heels of his injury-ruined season — especially with wunderkind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. waiting in the wings to hold down third base for the foreseeable future.

Indians Place Josh Donaldson On 10-Day DL

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11:13am: The Indians have announced the move. Donaldson will begin a rehab stint with Triple-A Columbus on Monday.

10:35am: The Indians are planning to place just-acquired third baseman Josh Donaldson on the 10-day disabled list, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The move, which is retroactive to Sept. 1, will enable the injured Donaldson to go on a rehab assignment as he continues working his way back from a strained calf.

Cleveland landed Donaldson in a trade with Toronto last week, though the Tribe knew then that it was unclear when Donaldson would be able to make an impact at the major league level. Donaldson’s calf injury has kept him off a big league diamond since the end of May, and as Rosenthal notes, he has only played 11 minor league innings over the past three months. Nevertheless, the Indians were confident enough in Donaldson’s health to take a gamble on the former MVP at the waiver trade deadline.

The Indians are paying Donaldson just $1.3MM of his remaining $4MM salary. Aside from that money, adding Donaldson will only cost the Indians a player to be named later, albeit one “with some value,” as Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reported at the time of the deal. The hope for Cleveland is that it’ll catch lightning in a bottle with Donaldson, who was an elite player from 2013-17, as it heads toward the playoffs.

Assuming Donaldson does return to the majors this year, he’ll bump AL MVP candidate Jose Ramirez from third to second, thus sending second baseman Jason Kipnis to the outfield. In the process, Donaldson will try to rebuild some of his stock as he nears a trip to free agency in the offseason, when he won’t be saddled with a qualifying offer.

Reactions To Josh Donaldson Trade

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It’s expected that Indians right-hander Julian Merryweather will be the player they eventually send to the Blue Jays to complete this week’s Josh Donaldson trade, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports. There’s plenty of time for a resolution here, as the sides have until Jan. 30, 2019, to determine the PTBNL. If it proves to be Merryweather, Toronto will be getting a soon-to-be 27-year-old who does not rank among the Indians’ top 30 prospects at MLB.com right now – likely because he underwent Tommy John surgery in March and hasn’t pitched this season. Merryweather did rank as the Tribe’s 16th-best farmhand at MLB.com after last season.

  • Like Merryweather, Donaldson has endured an injury-ravaged 2018. Calf problems have kept the third baseman out since the end of May, and Indians president Chris Antonetti said Sunday that it remains unclear when he’ll debut with his new team (via Davidi). It’s possible the Indians will place Donaldson back on the 10-day disabled list and have him join one of their minor league affiliates for a rehab assignment, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal says (video link). Meanwhile, they’ll prepare third baseman Jose Ramirez to play second base and second baseman Jason Kipnis to head to the outfield. Ramirez – who’s having an MVP-caliber season – does not want to constantly toggle between second and third, per Rosenthal, so Cleveland will have to be certain Donaldson’s healthy before inserting him into its lineup.
  • The Blue Jays didn’t commit to trading Donaldson until “late in the day” on Aug. 31, the waiver deadline, general manager Ross Atkins tells Arash Madani of Sportsnet (video link). Asked why the Jays didn’t simply keep Donaldson and issue the pending free agent an ~$18MM qualifying offer after the season, Atkins suggested the player they’ll receive for him is more useful than the pick they’d have gotten had Donaldson rejected the QO. Atkins believes the player’s “an exciting upper-level talent” who will have a near-future impact in the majors.
  • Donaldson grew into a leader as a Blue Jay and wanted to sign a long-term pact with the team, but the feeling wasn’t necessarily mutual, John Lott of The Athletic explains (subscription required). While Donaldson and the Jays discussed an extension last offseason, the team’s offer was “significantly” lower than Donaldson’s asking price – particularly with respect to contract length – Lott reports. Still, despite whatever issues he may have had with the franchise, Donaldson didn’t want to be traded, according to Lott.

August 31st Trade Deadline Recap

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A flurry of activity came yesterday in advance of the deadline to acquire postseason-eligible players via trade. In case you weren’t able to keep track of it all, here’s a roundup of the swaps made by MLB organizations on August 31st, 2018, sorted by the team on the acquiring end of the major-leaguer involved.

AL West

AL Central

  • The Indians acquired Josh Donaldson from the Blue Jays. Toronto will send $2.7MM to Cleveland as well, and they’ll get back a player to be named later, the quality of which will be dependent upon how Donaldson’s health situation progresses.

AL East

  • The Yankees took Adeiny Hechavarria off the Pirates’ hands in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. It’s not yet known how much cash the Bucs will chip in to help pay the ~$1MM still owed to Hechavarria.
  • The Yankees also pried Andrew McCutchen from the Giants. San Francisco gets infield prospect Abiatal Avelino and right-handed pitching prospect Juan De Paula.

NL West

NL Central

NL East

  • (No trades)

Indians Acquire Josh Donaldson

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The Blue Jays have officially struck a deal to send star third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Indians, as first reported by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links).

The Jays will get a player to be named later “with some value” while covering some of Donaldson’s remaining salary, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Paul Hoynes of the Plain Dealer suggests (on Twitter) that the PTBNL will in some manner be dependent upon Donaldson’s health status. Per the announcement, it’ll be determined by January 30th of next year.

There’s also a significant financial component to this swap. Toronto will pay down $2.7MM of the nearly $4MM still owed to Donaldson for the rest of the season, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Cleveland organization has long been cited as a natural landing spot for Donaldson. With the move, it seems likely that the club will plan to move superstar Jose Ramirez to second base, bumping Jason Kipnis into a utility role. Donaldson adds a potentially significant bat to the lineup, while also boosting the outfield mix by freeing Kipnis to spend time there.

Of course, Donaldson will first need to build up to full health. It had seemed increasingly likely in recent days that he would be moved, as he finally began a rehab assignment after months on the disabled list. Shoulder and, more recently, calf troubles have significantly limited Donaldson this season.

By virtue of the mid-season swap, Donaldson cannot be saddled with a qualifying offer when he enters free agency at season’s end. That also means the Jays will receive only the compensation they ultimately receive in this deal for the loss of a player who has been one of the best in baseball in recent years.

Of course, Donaldson has still been well worth the investment for the Toronto organization. He was acquired for a package that felt light at the time and seems hard to fathom in retrospect. And despite earning relatively hefty salaries through arbitration, he easily outperformed his earnings by slashing a robust .285/.387/.559 with 111 home runs in his first three seasons in Toronto.

Today’s trade, ultimately, was the Jays’ effort to make the best of what had turned into a difficult situation. Thus far in 2018, Donaldson has played in only 36 MLB contests. And he’s carrying only a .234/.333/.423 batting line in 159 plate appearances — a productive enough slash, to be sure, but nothing close to his established performance level. Donaldson’s glovework has also continued to slide, though he still drew approximately average grades in the brief sample this season.

With his large salary in the background, it’s easy to understand why Donaldson cleared waivers and was ultimately moved in this fashion. Of course, some have argued the organization should instead have stayed patient in hopes of making Donaldson a qualifying offer at season’s end. That strategy had some merit, to be sure, but also came with plenty of risk and somewhat limited upside.

For the Indians, there were surely many factors to consider as well. It may be that Donaldson’s performance has been limited all along by the same injuries that ultimately forced him to the sidelines. Perhaps there’s reason to hope that his shoulder woes will have been helped by the fact that he just spent months on ice while dealing with his calf problems. Donaldson has a reputation as a fiery competitor, and has every reason to impress before hitting free agency, so the Indians know that they have a highly motivated player.

Still, it’s not hard to spot the risks that come with this move. When the clock strikes midnight, the Cleveland organization won’t be able to look outside for postseason-eligible players. No doubt the team at least considered alternatives to rolling the dice on Donaldson, who only just began his rehab assignment, but perhaps there weren’t any opportunities that held much appeal.

Certainly, there’s no chance that any other players under serious consideration would have come with Donaldson’s established ceiling. And the Indians, unlike some other contenders, really don’t need to worry about getting him on the field in the immediate future. The club is coasting to an AL Central title while preparing its roster for the postseason. It can more or less use the final weeks of the season as an opportunity to make final evaluations and get a few injured players needed reps without wearing anyone down.

The fact that Kipnis will end up moving into a utility job of some kind no doubt also was considered. We know the club wished to have a left-handed-hitting outfielder capable of playing in center, since the team acquired Leonys Martin before losing him for the year. Though Kipnis really hasn’t hit much over the past two seasons, the team still clearly likes him as a ballplayer and has utilized him up the middle in the outfield — including in the 2017 postseason.

It seems, then, that acquiring Donaldson will not only potentially upgrade the Indians’ lineup, but could plug the hole that reopened when Martin went down. Sensible as it all is when plotted out that way, it remains a fascinating gamble on Donaldson’s ability to stay on the field and rediscover his unquestionably lofty talent level.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Josh Donaldson Out Of Lineup After Clearing Waivers

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6:23pm: Toronto is advising other organizations that it expects to trade Donaldson this evening, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links), who adds the Indians and Astros as clubs that have recently “shown interest.”

The Braves, meanwhile, seem “unlikely” to land Donaldson, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (via Twitter).

6:07pm: The Yankees are in on Donaldson but could only take on around half his remaining salary, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweets. MLB Network Radio’s Steve Phillips had connected the New York organization to Donaldson, via Twitter, while also listing the Cards, Phillies, and Braves as teams still engaged in discussions with Toronto.

4:58pm: Though he had been scheduled to play another rehab game tonight, Donaldson was pulled for reasons unrelated to his physical condition, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca tweets. That seems to hint, at least, that the Jays are taking precautions in the event that an agreement is struck involving the veteran third baseman.

Meanwhile, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said this afternoon that he “would not anticipate” any deals coming together by tonight’s deadline. Of course, that doesn’t rule the team out on Donaldson or other possible targets.

12:17pm: Donaldson has indeed cleared waivers and is eligible to be traded to any team, tweets Fancred’s Jon Heyman. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets the same, adding that Donaldson is likely to be traded before midnight tonight.

10:33am: The Cardinals have interest in acquiring Josh Donaldson in advance of tonight’s postseason-eligibility deadline, reports Jon Morosi of MLB.com. Morosi adds that the chances of Donaldson being dealt to the Indians are believed to be “slim.”

It’s logical to see St. Louis emerge as a viable suitor for Donaldson, with both Jedd Gyorko and Kolten Wong currently on the disabled list. Neither injury has been characterized as a season-ender, to this point, but with the Cards holding a two-game lead on an NL Wild Card spot and trailing the division-leading Cubs by a matter of 4.5 games, every win is critical. Donaldson is far from a surefire upgrade given that he’s spent three months on the shelf due to a calf injury, though, and Morosi notes that the Cards would need to deem the Blue Jays’ asking price “sufficiently low” in order to move forward on a trade.

Donaldson has played a pair of games on a minor league rehab assignment, homering for Toronto’s Class-A Advanced affiliate yesterday, and he spoke to the Toronto Sun’s Rob Longley about his frustration with his 2018 health issues while also alluding to some frustration with the organization.

“I can’t control what the team wants to do with me,” Donaldson said, though he declined to further delve into his current relationship with the club. “…There’s a lot I can say about that, but I choose not to say anything about it right now. I don’t feel now is the time or the place. It’s one of those things that, as an athlete, I can only control what I can control.”

Donaldson was reportedly placed on revocable trade waivers Tuesday, when he was first eligible for waiver placement. (Major League rules stipulate that injured players must be healthy enough to take the field when run through revocable waivers.) It’s not known yet whether he cleared, though it seems unlikely that a team would place a claim on him when he hasn’t played in a big league game since late May and still has nearly $4MM remaining to be paid out on this season’s $23MM salary.

Donaldson’s very placement on waivers, though, is at least somewhat shrouded in mystery. Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets that there is “some grey” regarding whether he was actually eligible to go through waivers. Donaldson’s would-be rehab game was rained out Wednesday, but he wasn’t slated to be in the lineup that night due to reported soreness in his calf following Tuesday’s rehab appearance. Certainly, some soreness following a player’s first game action in three months could be expected, but it’s presently unclear whether that would prevent him from meeting the league’s standards as pertains to the health of player being put through the August waiver process.

If the Blue Jays aren’t able to work out a trade of Donaldson (for whatever reason), he’ll return to the club to finish out what has generally been a successful four-year tenure. Donaldson took home American League MVP honors in his first season with the Jays back in 2015 and has batted .281/.383/.548 in 2066 plate appearances since being traded to Toronto in a lopsided deal back in the 2014-15 offseason.

Should Donaldson remain on the roster into September, the Jays will have to weigh whether to issue him a qualifying offer following the year. Doing so would entitle them to draft pick compensation in the event that Donaldson rejects and sign elsewhere. But the organization also runs the risk of the third baseman accepting that one-year offer, which should be for around $18MM, which would create some roster issues for the 2019 season. Toronto is set to turn third base over to uber-prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. next season, and a return from Donaldson would complicate matters. Players who accept the qualifying offer can’t be traded before June 15 the following season without their consent, so it’s not as simple as just trading him this winter in the event that accepts a QO. The Jays could try to make things work by having Donaldson and Guerrero play multiple positions — Donaldson has had cameos at shortstop and first base for the Jays in the past, and either could serve as a DH — but there’s certainly some degree of incentive for the team to work out a trade before tonight’s midnight deadline.

Josh Donaldson Rumors: Thursday

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AUGUST 30: Donaldson is in the lineup tonight, Davidi tweets.

AUGUST 29, 3:49pm: Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets that Donaldson will be out of the lineup tonight for Class-A Dunedin due to soreness in his calf and legs. Obviously, that’s an unwelcome development for all parties involved.

10:24am: The Blue Jays hope to trade Josh Donaldson before the end of the month, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link). Donaldson, who just launched a rehab assignment, will reportedly go on revocable trade waivers today.

There are many factors still at play in finding a taker for the 33-year-old, as we discussed earlier this month. Getting Donaldson onto the field of play meant clearing one major hurdle, but that only kick-starts what could be a fascinating process over the next few days. Donaldson will need to be moved before the end of the month in order to be eligible to play in the postseason for an acquiring team.

Whether or not Donaldson’s hefty salary will prevent him from being claimed on waivers remains to be seen. As Rosenthal notes, teams weighing a claim will be looking at an approximately $4MM tab for a player who has been injured — and, when healthy, not quite to his typical form — for much of the season. American League organizations will get first crack, in reverse order of the standings. Among contenders, then, the Mariners and Indians are first in line.

If a claim is made, then the Toronto organization will either have to work out a deal with the claiming team, allow Donaldson to depart without compensation, or hold him with intentions of issuing a qualifying offer at season’s end. Notably, Rosenthal says that last option is not one the Jays wish to fall back on. Should Donaldson go on to accept a hypothetical QO, the organization would be staking a ~$18MM salary on his ability to return to form while also creating a roster obstacle to uber prospect Vladimir Guerrero. Should he decline and sign elsewhere, the upside would be limited to recouping a compensatory draft selection after competitive balance Round B. The likelihood of an offer being warranted and of Donaldson rejecting it would depend in no small part upon his showing over the final month of the season.

[RELATED: The New Qualifying Offer Rules]

If, on the other hand, Donaldson makes it through the wire, the Jays would be able to negotiate with any interested organizations. Of course, there would also already be a clear parameter set on his market, since all involved would know that no teams were willing to give up ~$4MM in payroll to add him. While the Toronto organization could still look to create an opportunity to effectively purchase a prospect, the quality of the potential return would be limited by the implied value the market would have assigned to the right to employ Donaldson for the final month of the season (along with the 2018 postseason).

For all involved, there are loads of fascinating considerations and possibilities at play. The Blue Jays seem to have decided to avoid playing the QO game, preferring instead to make the best of the opportunities at hand. Of course, that could presumably still change. Contending teams with interest will need to assess Donaldson’s health and ability to contribute after a long layoff. He has dealt with both shoulder and calf issues this year. On the other hand, Donaldson has also been among the very best players in baseball over the past several seasons. Donaldson’s own outlook is also at stake, as he’d no doubt prefer to be dealt. Not only would that give him an opportunity to showcase his abilities in the spotlight before reaching free agency at season’s end, but it would eliminate any possibility that he’d be saddled with a qualifying offer.

An earlier version of this post mistakenly indicated that Donaldson would be placed on waivers on Thursday, August 30th. 

Josh Donaldson To Begin Rehab Assignment Tuesday

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Aug. 27: Donaldson will set out on a rehab assignment tomorrow, tweets Nightengale. The Jays could pass him through waivers within 48 hours and have time to trade him before Friday’s deadline for postseason eligibility.

Nonetheless, it seems like a long shot that a club would be convinced of Donaldson’s health to the point it’d surrender enough prospect value to outweigh the value Toronto could receive from issuing a qualifying offer at season’s end. But, if the Blue Jays themselves consider Donaldson too great a risk to receive a QO, then they every reason to shop him aggressively in the limited window with which they’ll be presented.

Aug. 26: Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson will start a rehab assignment at the Single-A level within the next 48 hours, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. This is a key development because it could help pave the way for the Blue Jays to deal Donaldson this month, as he’ll be eligible to go on revocable trade waivers when he begins his rehab stint.

Donaldson has been on the disabled list since May 29 because of a strained left calf, which has killed the Blue Jays’ chances of trading the pending free agent. However, if Donaldson shows he’s healthy during his rehab stint, the Jays may be able to make a buzzer-beating deal involving the 32-year-old before the month concludes.

Even if Donaldson looks physically fine over the next few days, there’s no guarantee Toronto will find a return to its liking, given that Donaldson’s stock has declined this season. After starring from 2013-17, including his AL MVP-winning season in 2015, Donaldson has spent most of this year on the DL and hasn’t performed nearly as well as expected when he has taken the field. All told, Donaldson has slashed an underwhelming .234/.333/.423 in 159 plate appearances.

Beyond the injury and performance issues that have defined his season, Donaldson doesn’t come with a team-friendly salary. He’s owed the balance of $23MM (around $5MM), which figures to drive down his trade value if Toronto doesn’t eat a significant portion of the money. In the event those factors combine to preclude the Jays from trading Donaldson in August, they’ll still have a chance to receive compensation for him in the offseason. They’d need to issue Donaldson a qualifying offer (worth $17.4MM last offseason), which he’d have to reject before signing elsewhere.

Whether Donaldson finishes the season in Toronto or another city, the fact that he’s seemingly on the brink of a return is an encouraging development as he nears free agency. While this has been a nightmarish year for the three-time All-Star, it appears he’ll have a chance to rebuild some of his stock over the next few weeks.

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