Josh Donaldson has been a flop for the Yankees since being acquired before the 2022 season, but C-Mac had to clear things up in regards to the trade for fans who say they have ripped the trade since it was first announced.
Sure, fans could have broached an issue with Donaldson’s bloated salary, but C-Mac doesn’t buy anybody who says they ripped the trade because they felt the Yankees were downgrading at the hot corner.
“The trade for Josh Donaldson was awful, and it was bad from the jump because of the amount of money Josh Donaldson makes,” C-Mac said. “He was no longer worth $25 million…but he was better than Gio Urshela. It’s easy to say it now, he’s been terrible as a Yankee. Don’t get me wrong, they would have been better with Gio Urshela if they didn’t make the trade, even though now he’s got a broken pelvis, but at the time of the trade, I hated it because of the money...but to be fair, Josh Donaldson, up until that point, had always been, and including when they made the trade, better than Gio Urshela. There’s no question. He’s just as good defensively, and has been an impact bat his entire life. They picked up Gio Urshela for $25,000 because he couldn’t cut it as a utility infielder. Donaldson had an .840 OPS and hit 24 home runs the year before the trade with Minnesota. He was nothing like he is now.”
Donaldson has posted a putrid .685 OPS as a Yankee, but he held an .829 OPS with the Twins before coming to New York. So, even at age 36 when he arrived, C-Mac doesn’t believe anyone who claims Donaldson was going to be a step back at third base when compared to Gio Urshela, who was a great story for the Yanks but never an MVP-caliber player like Donaldson.
“Josh Donaldson has won an MVP,” C-Mac said. “He’s hit in the middle of the lineup in a myriad of playoff-winning teams…so, let’s be fair about things. Awful trade because of the money, Josh Donaldson has been terrible, he needs to be cut now, all of that is fair. The idea that we all knew we were getting a worse player than Gio Urshela, you didn’t.”
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