If the Toronto Blue Jays want to trade injured third baseman Josh Donaldson, then ownership better be willing to spend money, as strange as that may sound.
Talking to Baseball Central on Sportsnet 590 The FAN, Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports suggested that the Blue Jays will have to eat up Donaldson's salary if they want to make a trade work.
The 32-year-old is owed $23 million and is set to hit free agency this winter. That, along with his nagging calf injury, certainly diminishes Donaldson's trade value. But as Heyman noted, eating up the cash may be Toronto's only option.
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"That’s probably the reality at this point. They may have no choice in the matter," Heyman said. "They may just have to bite the bullet and pay the remainder of the salary. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they have to pay it to get anything at all for him at this point."
A calf injury has limited Donaldson to just 36 games in 2018, and the stats weren't pretty before he went to the disabled list. The 2015 AL MVP is batting .234 with five home runs and 16 RBI, along with a .757 OPS. Donaldson was also hampered by a shoulder injury early in the season, which held back his usually strong defense.
But there are plenty of postseason contenders who have a hole to fill at third base, and Donaldson could certainly be a big-time impact player in October. Teams like the St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees could use a player like Donaldson, and all of them could offer up some young talented players for his services.
The Blue Jays may decide to hold onto Donaldson, however, and give him a qualifying offer in the winter. If he were to accept, Toronto would have him for the 2019 season. If Donaldson rejected it, the team that signs him would have to give the Blue Jays a first round pick for compensation.
The next week will be very intriguing as the Blue Jays try to see if a deal can be hard for their star third baseman, or if he'll finish 2018 north of the border.