Josh Donaldson doesn't regret signing with the Twins and the two seasons he spent in Minnesota. But he didn't mind being traded three months ago, either.
Josh Donaldson doesn't regret time with Twins, but fine with being traded to Yankees
Injuries and losses marred his two seasons in Minnesota before his trade to New York in March.
June 8, 2022 at 4:27PM
"You get to come to the New York Yankees — obviously, our record speaks for itself," said the 36-year-old third baseman, who was swapped to New York in a trade that brought Gio Urshela and Gary Sanchez to the Twins. "We have a good team."
He thought that about the Twins, too, when he arrived as the highest-salaried free agent in franchise history at the time he signed in January 2020. But the pandemic and a string of leg injuries spoiled his ambitions of reaching the postseason at Target Field.
"Going into free agency, I thought this team was primed to win," said Donaldson, who earned more than $29 million for playing 163 games as a Twin. "We had an opportunity. My first year, I wasn't able to be out there with the boys [because of injury]. That stung. Second year, nothing really went right for us."
Donaldson hit 26 doubles and 26 home runs for the last-place Twins last season, putting up an .827 on-base plus slugging percentage that was second on the team behind Nelson Cruz. Even that left him unsatisfied, he said.
"Probably my second-worst performance year — .827 was nothing to sniff at, but that's not up to my expectations," Donaldson said. "It was an OK year, as far as success personally, but team-wise, it wasn't great. There haven't been too many years where I was out of the playoffs. Obviously, I was a key figure for this organization and I take part of that personally for us not being successful."
Several Twins have commented this season on the lighter vibe in the team's clubhouse, and Max Kepler said last month that in 2021, it felt like the Twins were playing an individual sport, not a team sport. Is Donaldson's absence the reason for the change? More likely, he said, it's the record.
"I mean, they're winning ballgames. I'm sure it feels different," Donaldson said. "Most everywhere you go to, guys want to go and compete and win. The big difference, clubhouse-wise, I don't know. Personally, for myself, I try to bring the same energy everywhere that I'm at, put it out there and compete and play hard. But obviously when you're winning, everybody is probably having more fun."
Maddon out, Nevin in
Baldelli's friend lost his job on Tuesday. Aaron Boone's friend replaced him.
That was the fallout of the Angels' decision to fire Joe Maddon, who managed Baldelli in Tampa Bay.
"I'm very sorry to hear it. He's a friend of mine and I have a ton of respect for Joe. He's done wonderful things for me as a player and as a coach and as a manager," Baldelli said. "I know he'll land on his feet. He's got a great way of looking at things and turning things into some sort of silver lining as time goes on."
Boone learned of the Angels' move when Phil Nevin, who spent four seasons as a coach on his staff, texted him: Call me ASAP.
When Boone called, Nevin — who played the final 16 games of his 12-year major-league career with the Twins in 2006 — said he had been appointed interim manager by the Angels.
"It's emotional. I'm really excited for him," the Yankees manager said with a broad smile. "I think he'll be great. He's such a great baseball guy. He's certainly paid his dues. He's been close to landing a job a few different times where he's probably been the runner-up. But he's poured a lot into this game, and I'm happy for him."
The eight Twins headed for arbitration are Royce Lewis, Joe Ryan, Jhoan Duran, Bailey Ober, Ryan Jeffers, Willi Castro, Griffin Jax and Trevor Larnach.
