MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
By Phil Watson
MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
. . josh donaldson. 4. player. 2.
How acquired: Signed as free agent on Jan. 22
Josh Donaldson bounced back from a disastrous 2018 campaign, turning a one-year deal with the Atlanta Braves last season into a five-year, $100 million contract with the Minnesota Twins that includes a $16 million team option for 2024, with a buyout of $8 million that could increase to as much as $12 million based on awards in 2020-23.
Donaldson, a three-time All-Star and the American League MVP with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015, played in just 52 games in 2018 before recovering to play in 155 for the Braves last season, hitting .259/.379/.521 with 33 doubles, 37 home runs, 94 RBI and 96 runs in 659 plate appearances.
He was eighth in the NL with 6.1 WAR (sixth among NL position players), ninth in home runs and fourth with 100 walks.
Donaldson struggled in Atlanta’s NLDS loss to the Cardinals, going just 3-for-19 in 22 plate appearances with a double, a homer and three RBI while scoring twice. His home run off Jack Flaherty in the bottom of the fourth in Game 5 came when the Braves were already down 13-0 and was their only run of the game.
The 34-year-old carries Depth Charts projections at FanGraphs of a .260/.376/.504 slash line to go with 33 homers, 98 RBI and 94 runs scored.