Minnesota Sports Forum

Ask the Angels how that worked out with Albert Pujols who was younger and much better then Donaldson.

bleedspeed177 wrote:Ask the Angels how that worked out with Albert Pujols who was younger and much better then Donaldson.

Albert Pujols (32): 10-years, $240-million

Josh Donaldson (34): Four-years, $110-million (estimating)


Albert Pujols' WAR prior to signing: 5.3

Josh Donaldson's WAR prior to signing: 6.1


This isn't a good comparison on any level, if you ask me.

bleedspeed177 wrote:I just saw a rumor that his camp is saying the first 4yr/110M takes him.

I would pass at anything over 4yr/88M.

A bit late with this... but why?

There's no salary cap. So it's not like the extra money would prevent the team from adjusting down the line.
It's not your money.
The Pohlad family is among the richest families in the U.S. Them paying Josh Donaldson an additional $22M over four years is like you or I buying an 8-game Twins ticket package.

Sure, we might regret it. We might even want that money back. But it's not going to destroy us in any way.

The Twins have convinced us through the decades that this is the way it has to be.

Camden0916 wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:Ask the Angels how that worked out with Albert Pujols who was younger and much better then Donaldson.

Albert Pujols (32): 10-years, $240-million

Josh Donaldson (34): Four-years, $110-million (estimating)


Albert Pujols' WAR prior to signing: 5.3

Josh Donaldson's WAR prior to signing: 6.1


This isn't a good comparison on any level, if you ask me.

Fun stat: Pujols has still not struck out 100 times or more on a season. Even Joe Mauer did that once.

Camden wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:Ask the Angels how that worked out with Albert Pujols who was younger and much better then Donaldson.

This isn't a good comparison on any level if you ask me.

You can't compare Nelson Cruz to Donaldson either. It is more the concern of signing an older player to a longterm contract. Also, one that would be on his 4th team in 4 years. That is a concern. We know the Twins are are playing with a budget. The Polhads are not giving them a blank check to do what they want with this team. As much as we don't like to admit it this is more a business than a game. I am sure the front office is paid that way too.

bleedspeed177 wrote:

Camden wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:Ask the Angels how that worked out with Albert Pujols who was younger and much better then Donaldson.

This isn't a good comparison on any level if you ask me.

You can't compare Nelson Cruz to Donaldson either. It is more the concern of signing an older player to a longterm contract. Also, one that would be on his 4th team in 4 years. That is a concern. We know the Twins are are playing with a budget. The Polhads are not giving them a blank check to do what they want with this team. As much as we don't like to admit it this is more a business than a game. I am sure the front office is paid that way too.

It's not similar to the Twins signing Nelson Cruz a summer ago, but it does remind me of the Mariners signing Nelson Cruz to a four-year deal at the age of 34. The key differences, obviously, are total money owed and defensive impact. That deal in a vacuum was a huge success for Seattle and he didn't even play the field whereas Donaldson's elite play at third base should continue to age like fine wine.

I get the hesitation to some extent, but 6.0-plus WAR players don't become available too often and when they do they typically cost more than plenty in prospects. To be able to sign Donaldson without harming the farm would be an absolute coup for Minnesota.

Camden wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:

Camden wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:Ask the Angels how that worked out with Albert Pujols who was younger and much better then Donaldson.

This isn't a good comparison on any level if you ask me.

You can't compare Nelson Cruz to Donaldson either. It is more the concern of signing an older player to a longterm contract. Also, one that would be on his 4th team in 4 years. That is a concern. We know the Twins are are playing with a budget. The Polhads are not giving them a blank check to do what they want with this team. As much as we don't like to admit it this is more a business than a game. I am sure the front office is paid that way too.

It's not similar to the Twins signing Nelson Cruz a summer ago, but it does remind me of the Mariners signing Nelson Cruz to a four-year deal at the age of 34. The key differences, obviously, are total money owed and defensive impact. That deal in a vacuum was a huge success for Seattle and he didn't even play the field whereas Donaldson's elite play at third base should continue to age like fine wine.

I get the hesitation to some extent, but 6.0-plus WAR players don't become available too often and when they do they typically cost more than plenty in prospects. To be able to sign Donaldson without harming the farm would be an absolute coup for Minnesota.

Yes. Abe on repeat:

What's the harm in getting a highly rated free agent? A few million bucks for multi-billionaires.
The harm in losing prospects and players seems more risky and problematic.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

Camden wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:

Camden wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:Ask the Angels how that worked out with Albert Pujols who was younger and much better then Donaldson.

This isn't a good comparison on any level if you ask me.

You can't compare Nelson Cruz to Donaldson either. It is more the concern of signing an older player to a longterm contract. Also, one that would be on his 4th team in 4 years. That is a concern. We know the Twins are are playing with a budget. The Polhads are not giving them a blank check to do what they want with this team. As much as we don't like to admit it this is more a business than a game. I am sure the front office is paid that way too.

It's not similar to the Twins signing Nelson Cruz a summer ago, but it does remind me of the Mariners signing Nelson Cruz to a four-year deal at the age of 34. The key differences, obviously, are total money owed and defensive impact. That deal in a vacuum was a huge success for Seattle and he didn't even play the field whereas Donaldson's elite play at third base should continue to age like fine wine.

I get the hesitation to some extent, but 6.0-plus WAR players don't become available too often and when they do they typically cost more than plenty in prospects. To be able to sign Donaldson without harming the farm would be an absolute coup for Minnesota.

Yes. Abe on repeat:

What's the harm in getting a highly rated free agent? A few million bucks for multi-billionaires.
The harm in losing prospects and players seems more risky and problematic.

The 4 teams in 4 years (actually 3 years) doesn't seem that problematic to me. He was traded because he was about to be a FA and was coming off injuries then in FA signed a 1 year 23 million deal with the Braves and now is about to get paid by someone possibly the Brace who he was a fan of growing up. I just read he is a big fan of the History Channel show "Vikings" and actually made a guest appearance on the show. What more info do we need?!?!?! Get this guy signed! :)

I am not worried about the contract in years 1 and 2, but after that, we will have a solid core to lock up.

Hopefully, we can get some of these guys signed to extensions before 2022.

https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/minnesota-twins/yearly/payroll/

JD Article

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/01/assessing-the-state-of-the-josh-donaldson-market.html