The Cleveland Indians have acquired third baseman Josh Donaldson from the Toronto Blue Jays. The deal was agreed to during the Indians victory over Tampa Friday night.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports initially reported that Donaldson had been traded.
Source: Josh Donaldson has been traded.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 1, 2018
Shortly afterward Passan followed up and reported that Cleveland is the team acquiring Donaldson.
Sources: Josh Donaldson has been told he's been traded to the Cleveland Indians.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 1, 2018
Tom Withers reported Saturday morning Toronto is sending cash with Donaldson to help pay the remainder of his salary.
Added this morning: #BlueJays sending #Indians $2,709,677 to cover most of the $3,709,677 remaining in Donaldon’s $23 million salary.
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) September 1, 2018
Donaldson in the mix means the Indians infield must shift
Initially the Indians did not want to move current third baseman Jose Ramirez to second. That all changed with the acquisition of Donaldson.
Zack Meisel of The Athletic reported the Indians plan for the infield.
Antonetti: Josh Donaldson will play 3B when he’s ready to return to the majors. The Indians will chat with Jose Ramirez and Jason Kipnis tomorrow about where all of the puzzle pieces will fit.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) September 1, 2018
Donaldson will now man third base and Ramirez will move to second. This means that Jason Kipnis will be finding a new role eventually. The key part of the previous sentence is eventually. Donaldson is still not 100 percent healthy. For the time being it appears that Ramirez and Kipnis will stay put until Donaldson is ready.
Donaldson will be on the active roster
For a player to be eligible for the postseason they must be on the active roster before September 1st. Donaldson will be active and continue his rehab. Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reported this late Saturday night.
https://twitter.com/MLBastian/status/1035738367042957312
Bastian also reiterates the fact that Donaldson will play third with Ramirez moving to second. Eventually Donaldson will be healthy enough to takeover the spot at the hot corner.
What to expect from Donaldson in Cleveland
Donaldson has only appeared in 36 games this season with a slash line of .234/.333/.423 with an OPS of .757. These numbers are far from what is expected of a player of Donaldson’s caliber. Injuries have derailed his season and hopefully he can turn it around upon his arrival in Cleveland. Luckily for the Indians they do not need him at the moment which will allow him to take his time to get healthy and play at a high level. Even is Donaldson’s numbers end up in between this season and last season that is a win. For reference that would mean a slash line of about .252/.358/.491 with an OPS of .851. While this may be a bit unrealistic this is just splitting the difference from this season and last season.
What happens to Jason Kipnis
For the time being Kipnis will remain at second. After Donaldson is able to play again, Kipnis shifting to utility role is entirely possible. Being deployed at second base as well as the outfield. Kipnis has the ability to play in the outfield, but it is far from his best position. This would be in more of giving rest to a player type scenario. Come playoff time Kipnis could be valuable as a pinch hitter and runner for some of the slower players on the team.
