The Yankees were hoping Josh Donaldson would be their answer at third base when they traded Gio Urshela and Gary Sánchez to the Twins in 2022 for him. But that was never the case.
New York announced the team released Donaldson on Tuesday afternoon prior to its game against the Detroit Tigers. Donaldson appeared in just 33 games for the Yankees this season, batting .142 (15-for-106) during that stretch.
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“I’d like to say thank you to everyone for the love and support over the years !!,” Donaldson posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I’ve had the opportunity to play with some great teammates and organizations. I wish nothing but the best to the New York Yankees.”
When the March 2022 trade with Minnesota happened, the Yankees agreed to take on the remaining $92 million of Donaldson’s contract. Their investment didn’t pay dividends, and now they felt the best course of action was to release the veteran.
All told, Donaldson appeared in 165 games for New York and batted .207 with 25 home runs and 77 RBI. He also struck out 180 times.
While Urshela and Sánchez haven’t turned out to be superstars, Donaldson never gave the Yankees much to write home about.
Things haven’t gone the Yankees’ way over the last few months as they continue to fall in the American League Wild Card race. Anything is possible, but it will be an uphill battle the rest of the way if New York wants to play meaningful games in October.
