After going all-in to win in 2014, the Oakland Athletics are making big changes. Josh Donaldson, arguably their best position player for the last two years, has been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for a package of players that includes Brett Lawrie.
The Athletics made things official on Twitter:
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports first broke news of the deal.
Donaldson provided a farewell through Twitter:
Slusser and MLB.com’s Jane Lee had Beane’s thoughts after the trade was complete:
MLB.com’s Jesse Spector reported the corresponding roster move:
After confirmation of the deal, Slusser also had Josh Reddick and Donaldson’s thoughts on the move:
For the Athletics, the timing of the trade is interesting. They ended last year desperate for offense, scoring 263 runs in 67 games after the All-Star break.
Rosenthal had more on how the deal came together:
Even though Donaldson is not a high-average hitter, the 28-year-old had a .342 on-base percentage, .456 slugging percentage and 29 homers in 158 games last year. In addition to his power, Donaldson is one of the best defensive third basemen in baseball. He led all players at the hot corner with 20 defensive runs saved, per FanGraphs, in 2014. Considering he’s not eligible for free agency until after the 2018 season, the Blue Jays have plenty of time to reap the rewards of this deal.
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