Milwaukee Brewers Free Agent Target: 3B Josh Donaldson

After picking up Mike Moustakas last season via trade from the Kansas City Royals, the Milwaukee Brewers were forced to move Travis Shaw to second base so Moustakas could play third. Now with the idea of Shaw moving back to third, another top free agent name has come up that is also very skilled at the hot corner.

Josh Donaldson is another top name being thrown around as a potential free agent signing that would send “The Bringer of Rain” to Milwaukee. He would definitely bring some heavy pop to that line up, but what of Travis Shaw? Let’s take a dive in to see what Donaldson could do to bring success to the Milwaukee Brewers, and what it would take to sign the 33 year old Florida native.

How Good is Josh Donaldson?

Donaldson made a quite the name for himself when he got traded from Oakland to Toronto after playing four years in the Bay Area where he had a slash line of .281/.347/.458/.805 with 63 homers and 228 RBIs. So much so that he won the American League MVP award in 2015 with a .297 batting average, led the Majors in runs scored with 122, had an AL leading 123 RBI, blasted41 homers, and a slash line of .371/.568/.939.

Donaldson spent four years in the Blue Jays organization where his totals were .281/.383/.548 with 116 homers, and 316 RBIs in 462 games played. Sadly, Donaldson would also find himself on the disabled list more than once. However, he did return and was traded to the Cleveland Indians last season where he played only 16 games and batted .280/.400/.520 with three homers and seven RBIs.

Donaldson has quite the resume when it comes to playing in October as well. He’s a been to the postseason in six seasons and was one of the many keys to the Blue Jays making their way to the ALCS in 2015.  If the Milwaukee Brewers were to sign the 33 year old veteran, his postseason experience would play a major role in a playoff run. His career postseason numbers are .275/.345/.443 with four homers and 13 RBIs.

What Would Donaldson Cost?

As of right now, there hasn’t been much talk of teams reaching out to the veteran third baseman. He made almost $23 million last year playing for both Toronto and Cleveland so money might not be the issue with signing him.

One problem that looms is that Shaw would either split time with Donaldson at third base, or continue to play second base like he did when Milwaukee traded for Mike Moustakas. Shaw is also known to play first base as well. With that being said, it might be hard to find Shaw playing time if the Milwaukee Brewers were to sign Donaldson to the team.

Signing Donaldson to a one year deal or maybe a multi-year deal does not really sound too risky or too pricey.  Look forward to the Milwaukee Brewers to make some noise this winter when it comes to signing free agents. GM David Stearns has a knack for making jaw dropping transactions over the past year, and signing Donaldson would be a shocker.