As the winter meetings continue to take place out in San Diego, is it time we concede Josh Donaldson will be leaving the Atlanta Braves?
Rumors will swirl about every player multiple times this week, but the latest on Josh Donaldson might not be good news for the Atlanta Braves and all the people who would like to see him return in 2020.
Reports are coming out that it is becoming increasingly likely that Josh Donaldson will get a 4-year deal this time during his free agency period.
Not surprising, but there is growing expectation Donaldson will end up with a four-year deal. One thing to keep in mind is the possibility the DH could be added to the NL after the 2021 season.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) December 9, 2019
It could be argued that perhaps it was becoming a long shot anyways for the Braves and Donaldson to reunite this offseason.
If this report is true, I find it very difficult for the Braves to dish out that kind of contract to a player who is already in his mid-thirties, and has a had a bit of a health issue these past few seasons, no matter how fun and good he was for us in the 2019 season.
No doubt that Anthony Rendon is the top third baseman on the market, but it appears his suitors are dwindling to just a couple of teams and that the rest of the teams that were chasing him have now pivoted and moved their focus onto Josh Donaldson.
If the Braves don’t bring back Donaldson, that would obviously leave a big hole in the cleanup spot in the lineup as we all know.
No matter what moves the Braves have done thus far this winter, if they don’t shore up the 4 hole in the lineup and give Freddie Freeman good protection, it could easily be argued this offseason would be a failure.
However, let’s don’t panic and get too far ahead of ourselves.
No question, that Alex Anthopolous has already had a ton of scenarios play out in his head, and I’m sure he has had conversations with players and teams about a big bat to insert into our lineup.
Whether that be Kris Bryant, Francisco Lindor, Starling Marte, Marcell Ozuna, or a list of other players we haven’t even seen mentioned yet (this is the Braves after all).
And I guess we shouldn’t close the door completely on a reunion with Donaldson, but with this report, it seems the door is at least starting to shut.
It would be a blow, but it will also create an exciting opportunity for the Braves to chase after a big bat. Keep it here all week as we will bring you content with every rumor and deal from the Winter Meetings.