Yankees Release Josh Donaldson
The Josh Donaldson experiment is finally over. You could probably explain the experiment as more of a disaster but Yankee fans finally have one of their headaches removed. Too bad for them that it’s a little too late as New York has essentially been eliminated from postseason contention. Donaldson is being released by the Yankees after a dreadful season.
The Yankees have already announced the news:
Donaldson, 37, hasn’t played in a game since July 15th. The writing has been on the wall here for quite some time. Donaldson was on the 60 Day IL and this basically gives Donaldson a chance to sign elsewhere for the rest of the season. Based on his batting line of .142/.225/.434, I’m sure contenders aren’t itching to add Donaldson to their big league roster anytime soon.
This Donaldson deal will be one that Brian Cashman lives to regret. The deal never made any sense from jump street. Cashman wanted to get value out of Gary Sanchez instead of DFAing him. Instead, he latched onto Donaldson which ultimately was a contract that nobody should have ever wanted. Donaldson still had two years and $50 million at the time he was sent to New York.
There is a $16 million mutual option for 2024, but New York will clearly take the $6 million buyout instead. Yes, the Yankees will still be paying for the nightmare even though it’s gone from the roster next year.
Everson Pereira and Oswald Peraza will obviously get more playing time for the rest of the season now that it’s official that Donaldson is gone. The Diamond just did a post on Pereira if you want to check that out.
