Reviewing the Josh Donaldson Trade

The Yankees tried to trade Donaldson in the off season but couldn't find anyone to take his contract. It's all about getting out from under that contract and, in that respect, the Twins win the trade as I like where they have spent money on Correa and Lopez. Also, with Donaldson always injured, you never know when he can play or not.

If you look at the trade face value, IMO we lost the trade. We seriously weakened our catching & SS positions by trading away IKF, Garver & Rortvedt. After they traded away IKF they sought after Story. Luckily that didn't happen and Correa fell into our laps but that's a side issue that granted most likely would not have happened w/o trading away Donaldson. If Correa hadn't fell into our laps indepently, we would have been in a very very sorry situation.

To get rid of Donaldson was a win, no matter what we gave up, got back, or what ever happened afterward.

In a sense, the Twins lost the trade by making the trade in the first place.

Donaldson was already past his prime, and breaking down when the Twins acquired him.

His personality could be tolerated when he was elite (see Blue Jays), but after that, not so much.

Luckily, they were able to unload him.

Who knows who won the trade.

All I know is that, in that one day the Twins had Kiner-Felefa, I was reading through the thread here at Twins Daily and an intrepid poster said something to the effect:

That's such a weak trade, you would never see a team like the Yankees settle for a weak-hitting shortstop like Kiner-Felefa, no matter how much defense he can provide.

All those games later, the Yanks still have IKF.  And the Twins have Correa.  Hilarious.

I've read New York sports columnists who refer to the Donaldson trade as one of the worst in Yankee history.

This trade was nothing but a win.  To get rid of Donaldson even if it was just for 1 year of Urshela is a win. Plus add the fact it is the only way we would end up with Correa. The difference that makes in the club house alone is a win. 

If we look at it in terms of 2022, Urshela and Sanchez performed well.  Miranda's production was better than Donaldson.  IKF and Donaldson were both mediocre players so hardly a big loss.  I might call it a push or slight win for the twins.  If we look at in terms of 2023-24 and beyond, unloading the 21.75M this year and the $8M buyout next year as opposed to having Donaldson on the roster, it's a big win for 2023-24.  If Henriquez is a decent long reliever or better, it's even better.

Signing Donaldson to a big contract was another mistake the Twins made. Whoever is making these choices should be fired. I think it is the same person that hired a trainee manager that has shown he should not be a manager. 

The Donaldson signing was the biggest mistake by the FO. The trade had to happen for them to save face. He never fit the team,on the field or in the clubhouse. A lot of players have egos,but keep them in check. We won the trade by him no longer being on the team.

I would say it was a win for the Twins.  For most part it was just a way to dump Donaldson bad contract, which allowed us to go out and sign CC.  Really the trade should be judged with Mitch Garver in mind, as we traded him for IKF, kind of like a 3 team trade being it happened so quickly and IKF never played a game for Twins.  Garver missed a lot of time last year, but had average season up to that point.  This year got off to quick start for a few games, but back on IL after only 6 games.  

The Donaldson saga captures a lot of my frustration with the FO. For every smart thing they do (Nellie for Joe Ryan), they do something that can't be fathomed. Like what? Stay tuned. 

Signing Donaldson in 2020 was very dumb. He was past his prime, oft-injured, a pain in the, uh, neck and very expensive. Shunned by FA pitching that year, they decided to double down on offense.  The Twins woke up metaphorically in Vegas, hung over, with a regrettable tattoo on their lower back.

In fairness, to them, they soon tried to scrap it off.

Obviously, doing this took a a lot of machinations but they essentially netted Urshela in exchange for Donaldson. Sanchez was just a warm body needed at catcher after dealing Garver. But Gio represented promise. Urshela had an admirable 2022, putting up the 4th highest WAR by a Twins position player last year.

Then the FO did the inexplicable. They traded Urshela in the off-season for the fabled bucket of balls despite my trepidation at the time, expressed here,  whether Jose Miranda was a viable everyday MLB third baseman. As we sit here today, Miranda has done nothing  to quash that concern.

So to recap, lets use another Vegas metaphor. They bet big and lost. They scratched back to even but then they wouldn't leave the table. Lint now fills their pockets. They can't even say they got the free buffet.  

3 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

If you look at the trade face value, IMO we lost the trade. We seriously weakened our catching & SS positions by trading away IKF, Garver & Rortvedt. After they traded away IKF they sought after Story. Luckily that didn't happen and Correa fell into our laps but that's a side issue that granted most likely would not have happened w/o trading away Donaldson. If Correa hadn't fell into our laps indepently, we would have been in a very very sorry situation.

I think time will tell.  But in retrospect, getting rid of Donaldson was a necessity overall.  He was a costly player to have on the roster, especially considering his age and injuries.  I'm glad we have Correa!

At the time, the Donaldson signing was optimistic.  The Twins making a play on an high level player at a position of need.  Injuries really robbed the Twins of getting true value out of him as a player, though he was very effective when he did play.

Donaldson's clubhouse woes are well documented.  The addition by subtraction with Donaldson was very real.  Trading Donaldson allowed the Twins some financial flexibility which tipped the dominoes to a handful of moves.  I wouldn't really call this a win in the traditional sense, but I do think the signing and then moving of Donaldson opened the door for us to make power play moves like Grey and Correa. 

Actually the jury is still out on Correa.  He's making much more than Donaldson was and not performing much better overall.  He obviously has more upside but for what was spent he isn't performing like someone making 33 mil per year.  A huge disappointment so far this year.  But he sure is given all the excuses in the world.  

1 hour ago, Fire Dan Gladden said:

The addition by subtraction with Donaldson was very real. 

Anything to actually substantiate this, or are we just reviving a tiresome talking point from last season? 

I'd say the Donaldson trade was a net win for the Twins: they got out from under a contract that wasn't a fit for where they were going and away from a player that was increasingly burdensome in the clubhouse and less effective on the field. That's really important for a team with greater payroll constraints. IKF is a decent enough utility guy, but not a significant contributor; the twins got as much value back from Gio Urshela who had a very nice year for the Twins. Sanchez was better than advertised behind the plate but never found his swing again. In just pure baseball value on the field, the Yankees did a bit better when you look at last season's production, but the contract impacts tilt it towards the Twins.

I was a big Rortvedt booster but he's been totally unimpactful in that deal.

In the end, trading Donaldson is definitely a net positive for the Twins and overall I think the Yankees might prefer a do-over, even if they managed to get ok production out of Donaldson and IKF collectively last season.