The Toronto Blue Jays have reportedly made a blockbuster trade, acquiring third baseman Josh Donaldson from the Oakland Athletics, per Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com (via twitter).
Donaldson hit .255/.342/.456 with 29 home runs, 98 RBI and 93 runs scored in 158 games last season while being selected to his first All-Star team.
The 28-year-old will be arbitration-eligible this offseason and will be a free agent in 2019.
Going to the Athletics are third baseman Brett Lawrie, shortstop Franklin Barreto and pitchers Kendall Graveman and Sean Nolin.
While he showed promise early in his career, Lawrie has struggled with injuries these past few seasons. The 24-year-old Canadian played just 70 games in 2014, hitting .247/.301/.421 with 12 home runs, 38 RBI and 27 runs scored.
The 24-year-old Nolin spent most of the 2014 season pitching in Triple-A Buffalo, posting a 4-6 record with a 3.50 ERA in 87.1 innings pitched. The left-hander was a starter in the minors, but he doesn’t really have the stuff to pitch out of the rotation in the major leagues and profiles more as a reliever.
Graveman was one of the top pitchers in the Blue Jays’ farm system during the 2014 season, posting a 14-6 record with a combined 1.83 ERA while pitching between four different levels in the minor leagues. The 23-year-old can be a regular contributor in the major leagues as soon as next season.
The most intriguing piece the Blue Jays are giving up in this trade is Barreto. Signed as an international free agent by the Blue Jays a couple of seasons ago, Barreto has quickly become one of the top prospects in Toronto’s farm system.
Playing with the Class-A Short Vancouver Canadians during the 2014 season, the 18-year-old Barreto hit .311/.384/.481 with six home runs, 61 RBI and 65 runs scored. He also added 29 steals in 34 attempts.
Donaldson is just the latest acquisition during what has been a busy offseason for the Blue Jays. The team recently signed free agent catcher Russell Martin to a five-year, $82 million deal.
Toronto has also traded away Adam Lind to the Milwaukee Brewers for pitcher Marco Estrada and sent outfielder Anthony Gose to the Detroit Tigers for second baseman Devon Travis.
*All stats are from Baseball-Reference.com.
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