Top 2 Teams
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The Atlanta Braves are a very talented team right now, but they don’t have a great third baseman on the depth chart. Austin Riley is not as reliable as Donaldson is and he could be used as a trade piece.
The Braves need him back at the hot corner because they knew what they were going to get from him every day, and if they want to reach the postseason again I think that Josh Donaldson needs to be in that lineup.
The reason I have the Braves in front of the Rangers is that the Braves are a team that is capable of making it to the World Series while Texas is not.
Obviously the Braves are going to want Donaldson back. The only question is if the Braves will be willing to go the fourth year like the next team will.
Anthony Rendon signing with the Los Angeles Angels to go play with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani out west was a big hit for the Washington Nationals. Rendon was a huge reason why they were able to win their first championship in franchise history.
And without a star at third base and in the middle of the lineup, I just don’t see how the Nationals will be able to get back to the World Series despite their strong starting staff.
So, that is where Josh Donaldson falls in. Mark and Ted Lerner have shown that they aren’t afraid to spend some money in free agency, and fans are going to expect them to get back to the postseason in 2020 so I don’t see why they wouldn’t make a very competitive offer to Donaldson.
It is just a matter of if he will accept it.