The Oakland Athletics have traded third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays for a package that includes Brett Lawrie as well as minor league shortstop Franklin Barreto, proving that the Blue Jays are preparing to compete this season in 2015.
The Blue Jays signed Russell Martin in free agency and now they have added Donaldson in a trade, sending Lawrie, right-hander Kendall Graveman, left-hander Sean Nolin and Barreto to the Athletics. There were some rumblings that the Athletics could make some drastic moves after losing in the wild card game to the Kansas City Royals, but things were mostly quiet, with the team signing Billy Butler to a free agent deal. According to ESPN.com, Donaldson was notified of the trade by his agent and was "shocked" that the deal happened.
Alex Anthopoulos made the deal for the Blue Jays despite being "reluctant" to give up a package including four players, but the Athletics were adamant about getting a talented package for their All-Star third baseman. The Athletics looked like they would win the AL West last season, but they ended up losing by 10 games to the Angels and they only finished one game ahead of the Seattle Mariners to clinch a playoff spot on the final day of the season.
The Athletics lost in the wild card game in a comeback by the Kansas City Royals and now Donaldson is being moved in another shocking deal by Beane. Last season Beane made multiple moves that surprised baseball, including trading Yoenis Cespedes for Jon Lester and also dealing for Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. Donaldson has been developing into a strong player for the Athletics and at 28 years old he still has years of his prime ahead.
The Athletics also could look at trading Jeff Samardzija, according to ESPN.com, but only if it was a good deal and that could mean more is on the horizon for Oakland. Beane has made surprising moves in the past and after this trade, some may think the A's are in rebuilding mode. The Angels are looking like a strong team, while the Mariners are up and coming. Donaldson has been one of the best third basemen in baseball over the past two seasons and that prompted Josh Reddick to say the team could be rebuilding now.
Last season Donaldson was eighth in MVP voting and two years ago he was fourth and this season he hit 29 home runs and hit 98 RBIs in 158 games. Donaldson was named to the All-Star team and now he moves for Lawrie, who hit 12 home runs and had 38 RBIs for the Blue Jays in 70 games. Barreto is considered a project player and this comes after the Athletics traded away Addison Russell to the Chicago Cubs, as he was considered a top shortstop prospect.