After striking out in their bid to acquire outfielder Andrew McCutchen, the Indians appear to have added another former Most Valuable Player instead.
The Tribe acquired third baseman Josh Donaldson over from the Toronto Blue Jays in a trade made just before tonight's waiver deadline. They confirmed the move following Friday's win over the Tampa Bay Rays, and also received cash considerations in the deal. In exchange, the Jays will receive a player to be named later.
Donaldson, widely regarded as one of the best players in the game at the hot corner when healthy, reportedly cleared waivers Friday, making him eligible to be traded to any team. He will be a free agent after the season, and still has roughly $4 million left on an arbitration deal that gives him roughly $23 million total in 2018.
The 32-year-old Donaldson is a three-time All-Star who won the American League MVP for Toronto in 2015. However, he has struggled with calf injuries this year, hitting just .234 with five home runs in 36 games. He is currently on a minor league rehab assignment.
The addition of Donaldson could potentially provide a much-needed boost to a Cleveland lineup that has struggled with injuries of its own, including to Lonnie Chisenhall, Tyler Naquin, and Leonys Martin. Nightengale speculates Donaldson will mostly remain at third while Jose Ramirez (an MVP candidate in his own right) will bounce over to second, meaning Jason Kipnis will likely lose some at bats and even see some time in the outfield.
Donaldson becomes the first MVP to wear an Indians uniform since Jason Giambi (who won in 2000 with the Oakland Athletics) spent two years with the club in 2013 and 2014.
