The Twins have agreed upon a four-year, $92MM guarunteed deal with star free agent third baseman Josh Donaldson, sources say. He will earn $84MM in the first four years with a $16MM 5th-year option that includes an $8MM buyout. If he hits all of the escalators in his contract, he could push it up to $104MM. The veteran former MVP will strengthen a lineup that already led the league in home runs in 2019.
After weeks of talks that Donaldson was reportedly close to a deal, the Twins have landed the former Blue Jay, Indian, and Brave. In his injury-riddled career, Donaldson has hit .273/.369/.509 with a 139 wRC+ and 41.4 fWAR. He returned to the big stage last season with Atlanta after a full year’s recovery and didn’t disappoint. Hitting .259/.379/.521 along with a 132 wRC+ and 37 big flies. The addition of the 34-year-old to the lineup makes Minnesota one of the scarier offensive teams in the league.
Donaldson isn’t just terrific with the bat, he’s also a premier defender. Across over 8000 innings at third base, he’s put up a 68 DRS and 32.6 UZR. He even had 15 DRS last season.
