When Josh Donaldson got here to the New York Yankees in a March 2022 commerce alongside Isiah Kiner-Falefa, followers had purpose to be excited. Donaldson, though already 35, had some stable credentials. The 2015 AL MVP winner, and was a three-time All-Star within the mid-2010s.
Though everybody was conscious of Donaldson’s regular offensive decline, no one may have predicted his profession’s implosion on the Yankees. Regardless of hitting a walk-off single on Opening Day 2022 for the membership, issues rapidly started to go pear-shaped.
Josh Donaldson completed the 2022 season with a slashline of .222/.308/.374 with 15 residence runs and 62 RBIs. Whereas his stats final yr had been profession lows, nothing may have ready him for 2023.
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In 33 video games for the New York Yankees in 2022, Josh Donaldson is batting simply .142. Whereas he has demonstrated some energy, boasting 10 residence runs, his common simply isn’t reducing it for followers. On July 16, the workforce introduced that the can be heading to the Injured Checklist for the second time this season.
“Previous to right now’s recreation, the Yankees made the next roster strikes: – Positioned INF Josh Donaldson on the 10-day injured record with a proper calf pressure. – Recalled INF Oswald Peraza (#91) from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.” – Yankees PR Division
In accordance with the workforce, the harm occured throughout the seventh inning of the Yankees’ recreation towards the Colorado Rockies on Saturday. Though the ailment pertains to Donaldson’s calf, the third baseman missed greater than six weeks earlier this season with hamstring points.
Usually, the relegation of a former MVP to the IL can be seen as unwelcomed information for a fanbase. Nevertheless, within the case of Donaldson, Yankees followers appear to be happy that he won’t be round for awhile.
During the last thirty days, the Yankees have been one of many worst hitting groups within the MLB. With a .228 common throughout that time frame, the workforce has seen lots of his supposed stars face plate struggles. To additional the workforce’s headache, captain and 2022 residence run champ Aaron Choose has been sidelined since early June and has given no doable dates for returning.
Are accidents greasing Josh Donaldson’s path to retirement?
This yr, the Minnesota Twins can pay Donaldson a closing $21 million of a $92 million deal that he signed 4 years in the past. Whereas Donaldson was drive within the league, his clearly inflated contracts and lingering harm points imply that the Yankees look greater than extra more likely to train their $6 million retirement buyout come the top of the yr.
