Report: Cardinals emerge as suitor for Blue Jays’ Josh Donaldson

Ken Rosenthal joined Tim and Sid to talk about the Josh Donaldson situation, breaking down why exactly the Blue Jays would rather not have him as part of the team moving forward.

By the time the clock strikes midnight on Friday, Josh Donaldson, the Blue Jays’ Cinderella acquisition who helped spark two trips to the post-season in 2015 and 2016, could be on his way out of Toronto.

Friday at midnight E.T. represents the deadline by which major-league teams can add post-season-eligible players and, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, Donaldson is “increasingly likely to be playing for a new team this weekend” with the St. Louis Cardinals emerging as a possible landing spot.

Fancred’s Jon Heyman reports that Donaldson has cleared waivers, meaning Donaldson can be traded to any of the other 29 major league teams, including the Cardinals.

The Cardinals recently placed infielders Kolten Wong and Jedd Gyorko on the disabled list, creating a potential need. Morosi writes that the Cardinals have “intensified” their search for replacements as they attempt to chase down the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs and fight off the Milwaukee Brewers for the top wild card spot in the National League.

However, despite ramping up their search efforts, Morosi also reports that St. Louis isn’t exactly bending over backwards to acquire Donaldson because they have contingencies available such as moving Matt Carpenter to third base.

The Cleveland Indians have also been connected to Donaldson, but Morosi writes that the odds of such a move are “slim” because that would mean moving MVP candidate Jose Ramirez from third, a move Cleveland manager Terry Francona would be reticent to do.

Donaldson has been out of the lineup since May 28 with a calf injury. He began a rehab assignment with high-A Dunedin Tuesday, going 1-for-2 with an RBI and a walk. The 32-year-old missed Wednesday with soreness in his calves and legs, but looked good Thursday, hitting a home run in that game.

If a team does trade for the three-time all-star and 2015 MVP, that club would have to immediately activate him from the disabled list, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reports.

The relationship between the Blue Jays and Donaldson has appeared to deteriorate, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal recently reported that “the Jays want Donaldson gone.” The third baseman addressed the topic with the Toronto Sun’s Rob Longley, saying “there’s a lot I can say about that, but I choose not to say anything about it right now.”

Given all that’s happened it’s easy to envision a trade. So much so that USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that both Donaldson and Curtis Granderson are both expected to be dealt by Friday night.

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