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A’s, Blue Jays Swap Third Basemen Josh Donaldson, Brett Lawrie In Surprise Trade

By Hayden Kane

Sep 21, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson (20) hits a walk off home run during the tenth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at O.co Coliseum. Oakland won 8-6. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 21, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson (20) hits a walk off home run during the tenth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at O.co Coliseum. Oakland won 8-6. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Oakland A’s and Toronto Blue Jays executed the biggest surprise trade of the MLB off-season so far, swapping third basemen Josh Donaldson and Brett Lawrie. The A’s also received three prospects in the deal.

At the very beginning of the off-season, rumors started to circulate that the Oakland A’s might consider trading all-star third baseman Josh Donaldson in an effort to rebuild their roster after a disappointing loss to the Kansas City Royals in the Wild Card game.

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The team was quick to shoot down those rumors at the time, with officials saying it would be “stupid” to trade Donaldson.

Either they were bluffing, or they just got stupid, because on Friday the A’s traded Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays for young third baseman Brett Lawrie and three prospects. Ken Rosenthal reported the trade first.

Toronto’s side of this deal is to easy to figure out. When you trade for a third baseman like Donaldson for that premium price, you are “all-in.” We have seen the Blue Jays get aggressive like this in previous seasons, and between this trade and signing Russell Martin, they are going that route again.

For the A’s, the prospects are a typical Oakland effort to keep the farm system stocked with talented players. As for their immediate return, that will be contingent on if and when Brett Lawrie can reach his significant upside. If he approaches his high ceiling, he could be close to the player Donaldson is. His career has been plagued by inconsistency and injuries so far, however, so the A’s are taking on significant risk as far as their efforts to win now.

Billy Beane always seems to act like he’s one step ahead of the rest of us. Sometimes he’s right, and sometimes he’s not. Time will tell us soon enough if he was right to trade Josh Donaldson.

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