House That Hank Built
Fansided

What will it cost to sign Josh Donaldson, what should Braves offer

By Jake Mastroianni

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 22: A South Korean banker carries US dollar bank notes at the Korea Exchange bank on February 22, 2005 in Seoul, South Korea. The South Korean won jumped to its highest intraday level in more than seven years in domestic trade on Tuesday, boosted by strong foreign equity buying and exporter deals. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 22: A South Korean banker carries US dollar bank notes at the Korea Exchange bank on February 22, 2005 in Seoul, South Korea. The South Korean won jumped to its highest intraday level in more than seven years in domestic trade on Tuesday, boosted by strong foreign equity buying and exporter deals. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 07: Justin  Turner #10 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates his solo home run with third base coach Dino  Ebel #12 in the first inning of game four of the National League Division Series against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on October 07, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 07: Justin  Turner #10 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates his solo home run with third base coach Dino  Ebel #12 in the first inning of game four of the National League Division Series against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on October 07, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /

How much

It’s really hard to find a similar case to Josh Donaldson this offseason. It’s not very often you have a 33-year-old coming off a 6 WAR season looking to cash in as a free agent.

Alex Gordon was an All-Star in 2014 and 2015 and signed a four-year deal at age 32 with the Kansas City Royals for $72 million with a fifth-year mutual option.

Different positions, obviously, and Gordon had just helped the Royals win a World Series.

Maybe Justin Turner is a better comparison as he was a 5 WAR player in 2016 with the Los Angeles Dodgers at age 31 before signing a four-year deal worth $64 million.

In the 2018 offseason at the age of 32, Lorenzo Cain got a five-year deal worth $80 million from the Milwaukee Brewers.

Cain was coming off a 4.2 WAR season with the Kansas City Royals.

There really isn’t a decent comparison from last offseason.

I also get the vibe that someone is going to greatly overpay for Donaldson this offseason.

Based on those numbers, Donaldson should get $18 million a year for three years. That’s three years and $54 million.

I think the people out there saying he’s going to get $25 million a year are way off.

And if that’s the asking price for Donaldson, then see ya later.

I think he should get a three-year deal for $60 million ($20 mill AAV).

However, somebody is going to give him that fourth year to seal the deal. If I were a betting man, I’d say he gets a four-year deal for $80 million this offseason.

Home/Braves News