Josh Donaldson going to arbitration over $450,000 difference

Josh Donaldson is going to salary arbitration after he and the Toronto Blue Jays couldn’t agree over $450,000.

According to the Toronto Star, baseman and reigning MVP Josh Donaldson is going to go to salary arbitration after he failed to reach an agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays. However, the difference was very marginal – Donaldson’s camp demanded $11.8 million while the Blue Jays offered $11.35 million.

It’s crazy to think that the two sides couldn’t reach a compromise over a difference that small, and arbitration may end up offering him less than the Blue Jays did. However, it could have been due to the fact that recently acquired pitcher Jesse Chavez is also going to arbitration and they needed to settle his case first. No matter what, he’s going to earn a massive raise over his current $4.3 million contract – one that was also earned over arbitration.

The Blue Jays have team control over Donaldson until 2018, so his salary is the only thing that remains in question. He should earn at least $11 million considering he came off of an MVP-winning, 41 home-run season. There’s no urgency to lock him up to a long-term deal since he doesn’t become a free agent until 2019, but the club should determine how much he’d be set to earn should they re-sign him after that.

There’s no doubt the team wants to keep him around long-term, as his arrival helped get the Blue Jays to the playoffs for the first time in 22 years.