Chicago Cubs: Revisiting the Josh Donaldson trade

Drafted in the first round of the 2007 MLB Draft, former Chicago Cubs prospect Josh Donaldson blossomed once he was traded.

The Josh Donaldson trade is one that will continue to be questioned, given how things played out. In all fairness, though, the Chicago Cubs acquired a potential ace in Rich Harden in July 2008 when the team was in the midst of their best season since 2003. If you recall, the Cubs acquired Harden a day after the Milwaukee Brewers made a trade for CC Sabathia.

The two teams were battling it out for the NL Central crown before the Cubs pulled away with a four-game sweep over their rivals at the end of July. And at the time, Donaldson was still a catcher. With the emergence of Geovany Soto in 2008, it was easy to part with Donaldson. Soto was expected to be around for quite some time after being named NL Rookie of the Year.

However, he dropped off the face of the earth while Donaldson moved to third base, where he blossomed with the Oakland Athletics. He made his debut in 2010, smacking a two-run homer in his second game. In 2011, he spent the entire year playing for the Athletics’ Triple-A outfit but returned in 2012 at the hot corner.

He earned his first All-Star selection in 2014, slashing .255/.342/.456 with 29 home runs and 98 RBI. It was the first of three straight All-Star selections as he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays after the 2014 season.

In 2015, Donaldson posted stupid numbers – 41 home runs and 123 RBI – and was named the AL MVP.  He struggled through dead arm syndrome in the 2018 season but returned with a vengeance last year, signing a one-year $23 million with the Atlanta Braves. Donaldson smacked 37 bombs and drove in 94 runs in 155 games.

Hindsight is 20/20, and a case can be made that the Cubs pass on drafting Kris Bryant if Donaldson had a similar path to third base with the north siders. In all, the trade worked out for both parties but had the potential to be disastrous if Bryant didn’t pan out.