The Minnesota Twins have continued their quest to repeat as American League Central division champions in 2020, signing Josh Donaldson to a four-year deal worth $92 million. According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the former Atlanta Braves third baseman looks to have finally been able to cash in on his value after being frozen out of a long-term deal on the free-agent market.
This deal has the potential to turn into five years in length with a fifth-year option that would push the overall value to $100 million, a sign that Donaldson was smart to have held out this long on the free agency market. With Donaldson having found a home, the market dwindles again, forcing teams to potentially look more towards the trade market.
Donaldson brings a ton of value to the Twins, and while his age and injury history plays a huge part in him being able to justify his contract, the Twins are right to bring him in to help shore up their roster.
This deal marks the second-largest deal in free agency history for a player to be 33 years of age or older – the only other deal larger was the seven-year, $105 million contract that pitcher Kevin Brown signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Donaldson was tied to draft-pick compensation, so the Atlanta Braves will receive a compensatory selection for Donaldson leaving their team, just another way that they can continue to improve their already-dominant farm system.
For Donaldson, he will look to continue his offensive and defensive resurgence after having fought through injuries in 2018. His 2019 season saw him produce 37 long balls (which was the most for him since 2016), and he appeared in 155 games, hopefully being able to put some concerns about his past injuries behind him.
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