DUNEDIN, Fla. – “Josh Donaldson plays for the Blue Jays.”
I don’t know if you want to call it a rallying cry, an expression of pure joy or an exclamation of pride, but that sentence has popped up more than a few times from Blue Jays’ fans in the blogosphere and on social media.
And that’s because the fact that Donaldson plays for the Blue Jays is a really, really big deal.
Sportsnet Magazine’s MLB Preview:
Why the Blue Jays went all in with Russell Martin, and answers to the 12 questions that will define the baseball season. Download it right now on your iOS
or Android device, free to Sportsnet ONE subscribers.
Donaldson, who has finished in the top eight in MVP voting in each of his two full seasons in the majors and who is second only to Mike Trout in WAR among position players over that span, hit his fourth home run of the spring and made a spectacular leaping grab of a Steve Clevenger line drive in the Blue Jays’ loss to Baltimore on Sunday.
With all the stories about the pitching and the kids and the injuries, Donaldson has sort of flown under the radar, but the 29-year-old has very quietly had a tremendous spring, hitting .318/.388/.591 in 49 plate appearances. The four homers are the second-highest total in the Grapefruit League.
Perhaps the most exciting thing is that Donaldson doesn’t think his game is quite in season-opening shape yet. “I’m starting to feel good,” the third baseman told me after his day’s work was done Sunday. “I’m not quite there, but I feel pretty good right now.”
Hearing that, the question needed to be asked – how will we know when you’re where you need to be?
“You’ll see,” was the answer. “I don’t like to talk about it, but you’ll know when I’m there.”
And what does “there” mean to Donaldson? “Every at-bat, being locked in, not giving one at-bat away. Defensively every ball that’s hit, I’ll be making the proper footing that needs to happen, just really being locked into the game.”
Having appeared in 158 games in each of the last two seasons, Donaldson is used to the daily grind and thrives on being out on the field day in and day out. Sunday marked his fourth game in as many days, the first time he’d played that many consecutive days all spring.
He’ll be off Monday – he’s not on the travel squad to the Blue Jays’ game in Kissimmee, Fla., against the Astros – and likely won’t make the trip to Fort Myers on Wednesday, so the next time Donaldson will play in back to back games will be in Montreal next weekend. He says the impending lack of work won’t keep him from staying sharp, since at this point “it’s all about getting out of spring training in one piece.”
Donaldson, who has been in three straight post-seasons as a member of the Oakland Athletics, will anchor perhaps the best top five the Blue Jays have ever had in their batting order (yes, yes, I know, WAMCO), but he’s been very impressed by some of the players who will be following him in the lineup.
“There are some young guys in this lineup that I really like,” Donaldson said. “I have expectations for them.” Especially for the rookie who will be manning the keystone in Toronto this year: “For not knowing Devon Travis, he’s definitely been the guy I’ve kind of fallen in love with just watching him. He does a lot of things well and I think he’s going to be one of those guys that you’re going to know his name by the end of the year.”
The Blue Jays and their fans certainly hope so. It’s been a while since there’s been a second baseman on this team who could perform at a high level offensively. It’s been a while since there’s been a third baseman who could, as well, and now the Jays have the best in the business.