The other teams didn’t want Donaldson for themselves; they wanted a playoff competitor to *not *get possible help. If he, the Jays, and the Tribe had been truthful, he’d still be a Jay.
He should never have been able to be placed on revocable waivers in the first place. As ElvisL1ves notes, the other teams just don’t want Donaldson to be available in the playoffs. I believe if he had been waived and picked up after August 31, he would not be eligible for the playoffs. So the Jays and Indians did something perhaps a little shady to get around the rule that Donaldson had to be healthy.
I’m not trying to argue the point, but to understand it (particularly since I follow the Indians).
As I understood it, when he was signed, it wasn’t a matter of “is this player healthy?” so much as “This guy hasn’t played in a while; he needs more rehab starts before playing in a Major League game.” It wasn’t as though they put him on the DL to sit him for recovery. I thought they put him on the DL and immediately put him into games in the minors to make sure he was ready to go.
So I’m struggling with the argument that he wasn’t healthy when placed on waivers and signed. “Healthy” and “Major League game-ready” strike me as two different things, but I will accept that the rules may say otherwise.
True, the definition of “healthy” is fuzzy and the rule should be clearer. That’s how the Indians got away with it, but as a result look for the rule to be changed this winter to “not on the DL”.
It is a virtual certainty Donaldson would have taken the qualifying offer; he would not have commanded a substantially better offer on the open market, and his best bet would have been to accept the QO and have a good enough season in 2019 to merit a significant deal.
Toronto has no reason to keep him next year; they were better off saving a few million bucks on his September salary. Yes, they might have gotten a solid year out of him in 2019 but to what end? The team has no expectation of contending in 2019 and they have a ludicrously talented young third baseman they plan to bring up in late April. (I predict Vlad Jr. will end up a David Ortiz type career DH but they’ll try him at third for a few years yet.) A qualifying offer for 2019 would be $18 million (roughly, I can’t find the number or if it’s even determined yet) and that’s just not well spent money given where the team is. It’s better off saved and spent in 2020-2021 when the team can be good again.
This is, I suspect, part of his bitterness towards Toronto; he cannot be offered a QO by Cleveland, so he is in the worst possible contractual situation now. If he plays lights out in September and October I guess he might muster up a multi year deal, and I hope he does. He sure gave Toronto some great baseball.
As to the issue of the trade, Elvisl1ves nailed it; the definition of “healthy” is very nonspecific. The thing about roster and transaction rules is that teams have every motivation in the world to bent the rules as far as possible without breaking them - Vlad Guerrero Jr. being a classic example, of course, where like Kris Bryant he is being unnecessarily kept in the minors longer to exploit a rule in the collective agreement to delay his free agency. No matter how you design the rules, teams are financially motivated to skirt them, and if you draw new lines they will skirt them, too. All you can do is correct the most obvious holes, of which this, in my opinion, is clearly one (or hell, just allow injured players to be traded.)
This basically sums it up for me. It would be easy to implement, and would eliminate any debates over what constitutes healthy. The key principle is caveat emptor.
Tonight’s Nats at Atlanta game features the two NL ROY candidates head to head. So far, Soto is 1 for 2 with a walk and a homer, and Acuna Jr. is 3 for 4 and a homer shy of the cycle. I think they should declare a draw for the award. Their combined age is 39.
I can’t believe I’m just hearing about this today. I’ve seen some weird things in baseball, but an umpire blocking home plate after a walk-off home run is a new one.
Orioles lost 5-0 to the Blue Jays tonight, which puts them 60 games behind the Red Sox.
They are now within easy reach of the 1962 NY Mets, who finished the season 60.5 games out of first. And they have a legitimate shot at the 1909 Boston Doves for furthest out of first (65.5 games) in the modern era of baseball.
Why is it, again, that they’re running Chris Davis out there?
Is there a contract worse than Chris Davis’s right now? The O’s will be paying him $23M a year through the 2022 season. His WAR this season is -2.6. Negative two point six!!
Time to face it: Gary Sanchez will never live up to his potential. He came on like gangbusters for a half season one year. That’s it. He now has lowest season batting average (>300 AB) in Yankee history, edging out the immortal Jerry Kenney. He leads the league in passed balls. He seems immune to learning his position, he doesn’t block well and too often tries and fails to catch low pitches palm down. He’s getting to be an automatic out. Time to cut the losses and trade this dude. If he does well elsewhere, great, but he’ll never be a productive Yankee.
Who woulda thunk it? The Dodgers are sprinting towards the Division title, and nipping at their heels, are — the Rockies?
On a positive note, Ken Harrelson has worked his last game as White Sox announcer.
“I get a lot of letters from college aspirants who want to get into broadcasting. ‘Any advice, Hawk, you can give us?’ Yes, be yourself,” Harrelson said."
Pretty good advice - but whatever you do, don’t be a dreadful, obnoxious homer like Ken.
I hope he enjoys retirement as much as non-White Sox diehards enjoy never having to hear him again.
He’s certainly having a terrible year, both at and behind the plate.
But I’m not sure what you mean by “never be a productive Yankee.” He’s already been a productive Yankee. His previous two seasons have seen him provide New York with WAR of 3 and 4 respectively. That’s no MVP, but it’s a solid, productive Major Leaguer.
It is too soon to give up on him and trading him at his lowest value is really silly.
Yanks pitched all relievers tonight with good results. Wild card preview?
This lousy cold rain prevented me from going to the Washington Nationals game tonight. I was looking forward to it most of the year, but this lousy D.C. weather wasn’t even worth a $6 ticket. I do love D.C. so I’ll be back next season.
You missed one of the Nats’ ever-so-rare victories!
Not bloody likely. Probably Happ, maybe Tanaka. Severino will have one last audition tonight.