David O’Brien of The Athletic reports the Braves have made a four-year offer to third baseman Josh Donaldson. If that’s accurate, it would not seem that Donaldson has three four-year offers on the table, with the Nationals and Twins also reportedly having done so.
It’s no secret that the Braves want Donaldson back after his excellent 2019 campaign. Last year Atlanta signed Donaldson to what was, essentially, a high-priced make-good deal, agreeing to a one-year, $23 million pact. There was risk there, of course, as Donaldson had missed much of the previous two seasons with injury and there was no guarantee that he’d be healthy in 2019. But he made good, hitting .259/.369/.509 with 37 homers and 94 RBI over 155 games. His bat and his still-excellent glove were huge reasons the Braves were able to repeat as NL East champions.
Having shown he’s still a high-caliber performer has, obviously piqued other teams’ interest as well. The Nats are looking to replace Anthony Rendon. The Twins would have to shuffle the defense around a bit as they have Miguel Sanó at third and Nelson Cruz owning the DH slot, but for a talent like Donaldson you get the guy and then figure it out. The most likely move would be putting Sanó at first base.
