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Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: pros and cons of claiming Josh Donaldson

By Alan Carpenter

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Josh Donaldson #20 of the Toronto Blue Jays is unable to throw out Juan Lagares #12 of the New York Mets in the fifth inning at Citi Field on May 15, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 15: Josh Donaldson #20 of the Toronto Blue Jays is unable to throw out Juan Lagares #12 of the New York Mets in the fifth inning at Citi Field on May 15, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – MAY 12: Josh Donaldson #20 of the Toronto Blue Jays reacts after fouling a ball off his leg in the first inning during MLB game action against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre on May 12, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – MAY 12: Josh Donaldson #20 of the Toronto Blue Jays reacts after fouling a ball off his leg in the first inning during MLB game action against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre on May 12, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

Healthy Now?

So… he’s apparently survived the first night?  Well if that’s the case…

Yeah – he’s got to be placed on revocable waivers by the time that tomorrow’s sheet appears in order to be tradable (and even this is gonna be razor-close) by the time the Friday playoff-eligibility deadline hit.

Part of the waiver rules involved here require the Jays to certify that Donaldson is healthy enough to resume a regular regiment of major league play with a normal performance level.  That’s not the exact wording, but it’s the gist of it.

That being the case, it seems apparent that the Jays are intending to make that guarantee and that Donaldson himself is not expecting to go back to Toronto:

"The Blue Jays are being tight-lipped over a report that Josh Donaldson’s locker has been cleaned out."

The official cover story is that he wanted some of his stuff in Florida, but rather than having to inventory the whole thing over the phone with a clubhouse guy, he asked the Jays just to box it all up and send it to him so that he wouldn’t miss anything.

Yeah.  Right.

There’s a much more plausible reason:  neither side expects him to be back.

Who Goes After Him?

There’s lots of opinions on that subject.

Steve Phillips, former Mets GM, opined on the subject this morning on Sirius/XM’s MLB Network Radio during his First Pitch show (you’ll have to trust me on this link-less report).  He suggested that the +/- $4 million still due to Donaldson is going to be enough of a deterrent so that nobody will claim him.

I’m not so certain.

Regarding the opinions above:

  • Cleveland.  The money will be a factor, no doubt.  They are already well into record payroll territory (Opening Day 2018: $134.8 million; $10m above the 2017 prior record, which itself was $28 million about their prior-prior record high).
  • Yankees.  Could do it, but they are close on the luxury tax.
  • Red Sox.  Could do it, but they honestly don’t need him – injuries notwithstanding.
  • Cardinals.  Not terribly likely, due to the money.
  • Philadelphia.  Always a risk, but they’ve already tried a couple of others (that aren’t working that well) and just got Jose Bautista.  I’d have to think this latest move suggests that they may not be going after Donaldson.

Then there’s the Braves.  Yesterday, I suggested that teams intent on trading for him should do their homework early to make a deal even before a waiver claim is awarded… simply because there will only be a few hours between ‘claim award time’ and ‘deadline time’.

(note: I had previously reported that the deadline was 4pm EDT – it’s actually midnight EDT)

If nobody claims him, then chaos will ensue.  I can’t even imagine the flurry of phone calls coming into the Rogers Centre during that time period if that happens.

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