SB Nation - Josh Donaldson and the Blue Jays submitted arbitration figures that were so, so close: Donaldson at $11.8 million, and the Jays at $11.35 million. Somehow, they didn't just work out this difference of $450,000 yet, and they are now headed for an arbitration hearing on February 15 -- those hearing dates are supposed to be confidential, but Ken Rosenthal is good at his job. The only thing that will stop this from going to actual arbitration is a multi-year contract, as the Jays have given no indication of an interest in negotiating a one-year deal before the arbitrator is forced to pick between the two sides. There are just 10 days left to make a multi-year deal happen.
The Josh Donaldson trade was an absolute steal for the Blue Jays last off-season. While Franklin Barreto is now the A's top prospect according to Baseball America, the other three players (Brett Lawrie, Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin) Toronto gave up have been duds. I still think Billy Beane is the best GM in baseball but this was a big swing and a miss on his part.
Anyways, the Jays need to lock up their best player here. Jose Bautista, 35, and Edwin Encarnacian, 33, are free agents to be. The Jays should be competitive this year but with the up in the air status of their two aging sluggers it would be nice to have Donaldson signed long term. Even though he is under team control for three more seasons taking care of Donaldson now will help them know how much they can spend this upcoming off-season on Bautsita and Encarnacian.
Toronto was one of the coolest stories of the 2015 season. Donaldson won the MVP and hit 41 homers with 123 RBI and a .297/.371/.568 triple slash line. The team made the playoffs for the first time since 1993 and Bautista's bat flip against Texas became one of the best moments of the season.
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