Josh Donaldson – Third Base, $4,300,000
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Josh Donaldson‘s inherent value to the Oakland Athletics over the last two seasons was undeniable, with a combined WAR of 15.4 Given his usefulness, it was a surprise to not only see him leave Oakland, but also lose his arbitration hearing with the Toronto Blue Jays on February 3.
Manny Machado will be another popular name people may have liked to see here. Or possibly the Nationals’ young and skilled third baseman. As for Machado, the talented 22-year old will make less than $1,000,000 in base salary for 2015, but with two surgically repaired knees already under his belt, he’s a sizeable health risk.
The $4.3 million Donaldson will make in 2015 is a $3.8 million raise from his 2014 figure. The 29-year old has less than 1500 at-bats registered at the big league level, grouping him into the category of being a “late bloomer,” though he did play college ball beforehand with Auburn University.
Over his minor league career, Donaldson averaged a home run every 24.6 at-bats, so there is plenty of reason to think his production will not fall off as he moves to Rogers Centre for his home games where he will hit amongst the likes of Jose Reyes, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista.