The Toronto Blue Jays have traded third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Cleveland Indians for a player to be named later. Donaldson was dealt just hours before the deadline on Friday night. Jeff Passan was first to report the deal between the Blue Jays and Indians.
Sources: Josh Donaldson has been told he’s been traded to the Cleveland Indians.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 1, 2018
Donaldson has been battling shoulder and calf injuries this season and has not appeared in a game with the big league club since May 28th. However, he began his rehab assignment for Class-A Dunedin, hitting a home run in his second game back. In 2018, Donaldson has only played in 36 games for the Blue Jays posting a .234 batting average hitting 5 home runs with 16 RBI’s.
This move showed that the Blue Jays are committing to building their team, it was realized that they could not afford Donaldson’s qualifying offer so it was beneficial to try and get something for Donaldson now rather than losing him at the end of the year. At the deadline the only notable move that the Blue Jays made was trading reliever Roberto Osuna to the Houston Astros, Donaldson was talked about but still unavailable because of his injury.
The Cleveland Indians look to use Donaldson as an asset as he finishes up rehab and joins the Indians to add an extra boost to the Indians lineup. Putting Donaldson at third base will allow the Indians to move Jose Ramirez and capitalize on his flexibility while also improving their lineup as they look to make a good run at the World Series.
