The Milwaukee Brewers promoted third baseman Josh Donaldson from Triple-A Nashville on Monday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Donaldson signed with Milwaukee on Aug. 31 after being released by the New York Yankees.
- Donaldson has batted .177 with two home runs and three hits in five games with Nashville.
- In 33 games with the Yankees, he batted .142 with 10 home runs.
3B Josh Donaldson selected from Triple-A Nashville.
INF Owen Miller optioned to Triple-A Nashville.
RHP J.C. Mejía transferred to the 60-day injured list. pic.twitter.com/HI9VblR8TU
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) September 11, 2023
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
What Donaldson brings to Milwaukee
Before Donaldson was a referendum on analytics or the Yankees’ reliance on them, he was a 37-year-old who could still hit the ball hard, but was having trouble making enough contact and staying healthy enough to make a daily impact on that lineup. His defense is still reliable, he still walked at an above-average rate, and he hit barrels, but that got lost in the mix as the Yankees hit a downward spiral. Remove the narrative around that stint in the Bronx and there are still some usable skills in this package.
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Some of those skills are particularly useful to the Brewers too. They are 24th in hard-hit rate, and Donaldson is in the top 25 in hard-hit rate if you lower the threshold to 120 plate appearances. They are 20th in Barrel rate, and Donaldson is fifth in Barrel rate on that leaderboard. The infielder that he’ll most likely take the most at-bats from — Brice Turang, assuming the Brewers push Andrew Monasterio to second — hits the ball hard half as often as Donaldson, and Barrels the ball one-sixth of the time the veteran does.
The projections, and the underlying batted ball data, suggest that Donaldson can still help a team. It’s true that projections are less reliable for players over 33 and that he’s striking out more near the end of his career and that maybe the Yankees wanted too much of him when they acquired him before the 2022 season. But the Brewers don’t have to worry about all that backstory and have a simple question for the third baseman: Can you hit the ball hard and win us a game or two down the stretch? There are still signs that point to yes being the answer. — Sarris
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Backstory
The Brewers will be the fifth team Donaldson has played with since winning the 2015 American League MVP with Toronto. The 37-year-old has struggled to stay healthy in recent years and was placed on the 60-day injured list by New York earlier this season with a calf strain.
Donaldson will be postseason-eligible if Milwaukee makes the playoffs. With 20 games to play in the regular season, the Brewers hold a three-game lead in the National League Central with a record of 79-63.
Donaldson has hit .262/.359/.491 in his career with 276 home runs, including 41 homers during his MVP season. He signed a four-year, $92 million deal with the Minnesota Twins in free agency in 2020 before joining the Yankees in 2022.
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(Photo: Brad Penner / USA Today)