News reached us yesterday that the long awaited debut of Josh Donaldson is at hand. The veteran third baseman is set to make his much-anticipated start at third base tonight in Tampa, against the Rays.
Donaldson, now activated from the 10-day disabled list, will make his first appearance in an Indians uniform since his trade to Cleveland from the Blue Jays. The Tribe acquired the 2015 American League MVP from Toronto in exchange for a player to be named later just before the calendar ticked over into September, sneaking him in under the August 31st deadline for players to be eligible for postseason play.
There has been some recent controversy surrounding the trade, with a number of other contenders unhappy with the Indians and their methods of prying Donaldson out of Canada. It seems the Red Sox, Yankees and Astros were aggrieved that the Tribe were able to speak to Donaldson directly once he was placed on revocable waivers, and even managed to work him out for a medical at Progressive Field. However, President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti is adamant no foul play took place, and any one of those clubs could have theoretically done the same thing.
Donaldson hasn't featured in an MLB game since May 28, and has been battling issues with his left calf and shoulder all season. In an effort to return him to full fitness he was sent straight to Triple-A Columbus for a rehab assignment upon joining the Indians and on September 3rd the 32 year-old crushed a grand slam in his very first rehab game for the Clippers. He has batted 2-for-10 with another home run in three games for Double-A Akron since.
Before he was shut down by the Jays in late May, Donaldson played in 36 games and batted .234/.333/.423 (BA/OBP/SLG) with 5 home runs, 16 RBI, 21 walks and 44 strikeouts. The Tribe will hope that a healthy Donaldson can have a big impact in the weeks to come, and maybe recapture a bit of the magic that made him such a force only a couple of years ago. Donaldson made three straight All Star appearances between 2014-2016, with his 2015 MVP award sandwiched in between (41 HR, 123 RBI, 151 OPS+, 8.7 WAR).
Donaldson couldn’t come to a long-term agreement with Toronto this past winter as contract talks broke down in February, with neither side able to find a suitable deal. Therefore Donaldson is set to become a free agent in the offseason, and the Tribe likely envision him as a pure rental, their one big offensive splash in an effort to capture that elusive third championship. Perhaps a deal can be struck in the offseason to keep Donaldson in Cleveland for another couple of years, but right now I think we all expect his stay to be brief, but hopefully fruitful. Regardless, it's nice to have a recent MVP in your lineup.
With the Tribe 15.5 games ahead of the Twins in the AL Central, this is an ideal time to let Donaldson regain his rhythm over the next few weeks of largely meaningless games (results-wise at least.) The idea will be to get the veteran multiple at-bats until he is ready to be a daily fixture in the lineup, all with the goal of getting him hot for October when he can do some real damage.
Donaldson is set to start at third base tonight and ease his way back into full-time play. He is likely to be available off the bench tomorrow but should be back in the lineup by Friday if everything goes well. As a result, Jose Ramirez will be shifting over to second base, which means Jason Kipnis will relocate to center field, similar to how he did in 2017.
Kipnis performed admirably during his brief time in center last year, but I can’t say I was exactly clamoring to see him return to the position. He played center field in 11 of the final 12 regular-season games and started all 5 playoff games in the outfield as well. I wrote a piece in February expressing my wish to see the second baseman remain in the infield this season, but it appears the management want to tinker with Kipnis in the outfield once again.
Is he happy about the return to the outfield? Just over a week ago, Kipnis was quoted saying; "Do I love it? No. But I don't have to love it. That's the part. I've got a job to do. It's OK as long as all of our goals are the same and that's to win a World Series."
The 31 year-old’s overall production this season has been underwhelming and a number of fans have called for Ramirez at second base for some time (with Kipnis riding the pine instead). I’ve always been a big Kipnis supporter but it's clear that 2018 has not been the type of season he would have wished for.
However, he's begun to turn things around a bit in recent weeks, and over the past fortnight he's batted .327/.404/.653 with 4 home runs, 4 doubles and 15 RBI, with 2 stolen bases as well. It's a small sample of course, but hopefully an indicator he could be hitting some form at just the right time.
The lack of a division race this year has resulted in August and September being more relaxed for the Indians and their fans, especially in comparison to their AL rivals in the other divisions, but thankfully Donaldson's introduction to the team and Kipnis' transition to the outfield still provide us with plenty to watch and discuss as the final month of the season draws to a close.
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