After nearly four seasons with the Blue Jays, Josh Donaldson's tenure in Toronto has reportedly come to an end.
The Blue Jays have agreed to trade the third baseman to the Cleveland Indians. The trade was first reported by Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
The return for Donaldson was not immediately known. The Indians will come to Toronto for a four game series against the Blue Jays beginning Sept. 6.
Donaldson, 32, began a rehab assignment with the Class A Dunedin Blue Jays Tuesday after missing three months with a calf strain. He rested Wednesday before returning to the lineup Thursday and hitting a home run. Still, those are the only two times Donaldson has appeared in games since May, so he remains something of an unknown for 2018.
Before this season, Donaldson was a perennial MVP candidate widely regarded as one of baseball's best players. He had generated at least 5.0 wins above replacement for five consecutive seasons, posting a .901 OPS during that stretch.
It was with that production in mind that the Blue Jays discussed a possible extension with Donaldson this spring. Talks did not progress, however, and Donaldson instead entered his free agent year without a contract.
Donaldson encountered health issues early in 2018, as right shoulder issues impacted his ability to play third base. Eventually, those issues appeared to impact his hitting, and Donaldson batted just .234/.333/.423 in 36 games before returning to the disabled list with a calf injury.
Donaldson ends his Blue Jays tenure with 116 home runs and a .281/.383/.548 batting line over four seasons. He made two all-star teams, earned two Silver Sluggers and won the 2015 AL MVP. In 20 post-season games with Toronto from 2015-16, Donaldson hit four home runs with a 1.000 OPS.
Though his tenure ends anticlimactically, the acquisition of Donaldson for Franklin Barreto, Kendall Graveman, Brett Lawrie and Sean Nolin in November 2014 remains one of the best in recent memory.
Now that Donaldson has been traded, he'll get the chance to rebuild value down the stretch and potentially into October. He'll be ineligible to obtain a qualifying offer this off-season because of the trade.
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