As Major League Baseball teams scramble to bolster their teams before the August 31 trade deadline, a pair of veterans were traded on Friday night. The Toronto Blue Jays will be sending third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Cleveland Indians. In the National League, the Milwaukee Brewers are acquiring left hander Gio Gonzalez from the Washington Nationals.
Donaldson, 32, has not played in the Major Leagues since May 28. He has been battling shoulder and calf issues this season and was rehabbing in the Minor Leagues when the trade was announced. He hit a homer in the first at-bat of his second game on his rehab assignment with Class-A Dunedin. He finished his brief rehab assignment going 2-5 with a walk and an RBI.
In 36 games this season Donaldson had a .234 batting average with the Toronto Blue Jays. He belted five home runs and had 16 runs batted in. Donaldson was named the American League Most Valuable Player in 2015 after leading the Blue Jays to the American League Championship Series that year.
The Blue Jays had hoped to ink Donaldson to a long-term deal before the season, but he shut down talks with the team. He is set to be a free agent at the end of the season. The third baseman his 116 home runs in his four seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, including 33 last season. He spent the first four seasons of his Major League career with the Oakland Athletics.
The Milwaukee Brewers agreed to a deal to acquire left-handed starter Gio Gonzalez from the Washington Nationals. It has not been reported what the Nationals will receive as compensation in the deal. The Brewers have been looking for starting pitching help for several months and were finally add some pitching depth.
Gonzalez, 32, has struggled this season with the Washington Nationals. He is just 7-11 with a 4.57 earned run average through 27 starts this season. His struggles have been even worse since June as he has posted a 6.53 earned run average since that span. Washington decided to part with Gonzalez after he gave them a solid seven seasons in his career.
Despite his recent struggles, Gonzalez will go down as one of the best starting pitchers in Washington Nationals history. The lefty’s 86 wins is the most by a pitcher in Washington Nationals history. He also has the highest Wins Above Replacement (21.4) and is the franchise leader in strikeouts with 1,215.
Gonzalez has been named to the All-Star team twice in his career. He has a career record of 124-97 with a 3.71 career earned run average. The Brewers are hoping that Gonzalez can turn around his fortunes at Miller Park. He has a 6.75 career ERA at the home ballpark of the Brewers.
The Brewers are hoping that the addition of Gonzalez will help them reach the 2018 playoffs. Milwaukee entered play on Friday night trailing the Chicago Cubs by 5 games in the National League Central. They hold a slim lead on the second Wild Card spot in the National League.
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