According to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet, the Toronto Blue Jays and third baseman Josh Donaldson have avoided arbitration by agreeing on a record deal of $23 million for 2018.
Donaldson, 32, will become a free agent after the 2018 season and though the Toronto Blue Jays are unlikely to contend they haven’t showed much interest in trading him.
The right-handed hitting Donaldson hit .270/.385/.559, 144 OPS+ with 21 doubles, 33 home runs and 78 RBI in 113 games for the Jays in 2017. He did spend time on the DL early in the season with a right calf strain.
Donaldson won the American League MVP in 2015 when he hit .297/.371/.568 with 41 doubles, 41 home runs and a league leading 123 RBI. He hasn’t been able to repeat his fantastic defensive season of 2014 when he had 20 DRS but was still a strong defender in 2017 with 3 DRS at third. He also played four games at shortstop.
The Rockies and outfielder Charlie Blackmon also avoided arbitration on Friday, they agreed to a $14 million salary for the 2018 season. The 31-year-old is coming off a monster season that saw him post a career-high 6 WAR, 142 OPS+, 137 runs, 14 triples, .331 BA and 387 total bases. He finished fifth in NL MVP voting while being an All-Star and winning a Silver Slugger.
Like Donaldson, Blackmon will be part of the incredible free agent class next offseason.
More MLB News and Notes
The Arizona Diamondbacks remain engaged in talks with the Baltimore Orioles over third baseman Manny Machada according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Rosenthal also reports that the Washington Nationals see Greg Holland as too big of a risk to give a multi-year deal. They currently have a bullpen led by Ryan Madson, Sean Doolittle and Brandon Kintzler.
The Brewers continue to show interest in center fielder Lorenzo Cain and would have to trade an outfielder like Domingo Santana or Brett Phillips to make room.
Andrew McCutchen remains a top target for the San Francisco Giants as they look to bolster their outfielder and add some pop. Mike Puma of the NY Post reported the Mets are no longer pursuing Cutch.
Former Met Francisco Rodriguez wants to pitch in 2018 and will throw for scouts to try to garner interest per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag.
