The Twins are one of the finalists to land Josh Donaldson

The Twins are reportedly one of only two teams to offer Josh Donaldson a 4 year deal which is what he is looking for. The other team is the Washington Nationals, who are looking to replace Anthony Rendon.

The cost will likely be around $90-100 million over these four years.

Donaldson is 34 and would be 38 at the end of this contract, but he is still one of the best third basemen in baseball, both offensively and defensively. He has had an fWAR of 4.9 or better in six out of his last seven seasons. He also hit .259/.379/.521 (.900) with 37 home runs last season. He is very durable, playing 150+ games in five of the last seven seasons.

Another thing signing Donaldson would do is fix the infield defense. The left side of the Twins infield is not exactly anything to be excited about defensively. Jorge Polanco, who will remain at shortstop in 2020, had a -9.1 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) last season and Miguel Sano had a -6.7 at third base. Donaldson is an instant upgrade over there with a 2.4 UZR. Miguel Sano would make the transition over to first base if Donaldson is signed.

The Twins obviously still need two starting pitchers to be a force in the American League, but they have a chance to substantially upgrade their team. They will bring in their starting pitchers and Donaldson replaces the hole left by C.J. Cron in their lineup and infield. Before you go say “but can he pitch?” take a look at this potential lineup.

1. Luis Arraez, 2B
2. Jorge Polanco, SS
3. Nelson Cruz, DH
4. Josh Donaldson, 3B
5. Max Kepler, RF
6. Miguel Sano, 1B
7. Mitch Garver, C
8. Eddie Rosario, LF
9. Byron Buxton, CF

The goal is always to get better, and adding Josh Donaldson to the lineup and then pursuing a trade for a starting pitcher might be the best option. What do you think? This is an excellent discussion to have, so leave a comment and discuss.