Cleveland Indians acquire Josh Donaldson from Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays traded third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Cleveland Indians.

As first reported by Jeff Passan, Josh Donaldson has been traded by the Toronto Blue Jays to the Cleveland Indians. The trade confirmation came out before it was known where exactly Donaldson was headed, which had fans speculating on who the mystery team was. Passan later confirmed it was Cleveland, but it’s still not known who the Blue Jays are receiving in return.

Donaldson has only played 36 games this season and hasn’t played up to his usual level. He hit .234/.333/.423 before going on the DL in late May. At the time, he wasn’t expected to be out for three months. He had some setbacks during his recovery but finally got into minor league games this week. In four games at the High-A level, he was 4-for-10 with a home run and three RBI.

If he can remain healthy and return to his previous form, he gives Cleveland another powerful middle-of-the-order bat. The Fangraphs Depth Charts have him projected to hit .262/.368/.506 in 17 games over the rest of the season. He’ll likely play third base when he’s in the lineup, which will move Jose Ramirez from third base to second base and push current second baseman Jason Kipnis to the outfield or the bench. Kipnis hasn’t played outfield this season but did play 11 games their last year.

Donaldson’s health will determine how much he plays. The team would like to have him at third base, but if he needs some time at DH they can move Encarnacion to first base, where he’s played 19 games this year. That scenario would push regular first baseman Yonder Alonso to the bench. However the playing time gets distributed, Cleveland should get an upgrade on offense.

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With a 14.5-game lead in the AL Central, the Indians didn’t acquire Donaldson for the regular season. They have that wrapped up. He’s also a free agent at the end of the year, so this move is all about this postseason. With that in mind, Donaldson won’t be expected to play everyday in September. His playing time can be gradually ramped up so that he’s ready for the ALDS when the time comes.

For the Blue Jays, this trade is about the future. They have baseball’s top prospect, Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., waiting in the wings. Little Vlad has crushed it in the minor leagues this season. Primarily playing in AA and AAA, he’s hit .382/.441/.635 with nearly as many walks as strikeouts. He’s as ready for the big leagues as any minor leaguer in the game.

Like Donaldson, Guerrero plays third base. With Donaldson being a free agent after this season, the Blue Jays could have given him a qualifying offer. If they had done so and he had accepted it, they would be effectively blocking their top prospect. They didn’t want to do that, so Donaldson was traded.

For his part, Donaldson goes from a team well out of contention to a team assured of making the playoffs. He is also no longer eligible to receive a qualifying offer because of the trade, which makes him an unrestricted free agent without a draft pick attached to him for whatever team signs him. What he does down the stretch for the Cleveland Indians and in the postseason will make a difference when he hits free agency this offseason.