Boston Red Sox rumors: Why making a move for Josh Donaldson doesn’t make sense

With the offense being the key driver to the Boston Red Sox 2018 World Series win, there should be no reason for garnering interest in Josh Donaldson.

On Wednesday afternoon, ESPN writer David Schoenfield gave his thoughts on what blockbuster move each MLB team should make this upcoming offseason. Within the article, Schoenfield gave his explanation for why the Boston Red Sox should invest in free agent infielder, Josh Donaldson. No offense David but I disagree.

Donaldson struggled with a calf muscle injury for the majority of the 2018 season, leading the Toronto Blue Jays to trade him to the Cleveland Indians for basically nothing.

From there, Donaldson rehabbed in the minors and came back for the postseason. In the ALDS against Houston, he struggled to regain footing, batting 1-12 in three games.

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While Donaldson’s clearly had a fantastic MLB career, one that’s featured an MVP award in 2015, there’s no doubt the third baseman is on the decline.

He’s 32 years old, and clearly looked out of sorts after coming back from his calf strain issues, Injuries like those tend to linger as athletes get older too.

Not to mention, Alex Cora would have to figure out what do with Rafael Devers if this acquisition were to happen. Sure, the 22-year-old may be a little inconsistent, but he’s got plenty of time to grow.

At times, Devers defense was a nightmare, but for the most part, his contributions during the ALDS and ALCS were much appreciated.

Not only did he bat .286 against the New York Yankees in the first round, but he also came up huge against a Houston team that featured some of the best pitchers in the game (.386 in that series). All in all, it would be tough to just let someone like that go so easily.

The Red Sox have better moves to make

Also, as I mentioned in one of my previous pieces about free agency, the Boston Red Sox are strapped as far as their cap space goes. Their plan should be re-signing their most important guys like Craig Kimbrel or Nathan Eovaldi. Getting another right-handed bat should not be as much of a priority as Schoenfield says it is.

They still have two of the best right-handed batters in the game with Mookie Betts and JD Martinez. The former could possibly become a $400 million player (gulp), which would complicate finances even more if this contract ever did come to fruition. There would have to be a lot of inner-movements for something as gigantic as that to happen.

Essentially, if the Boston Red Sox were to acquire Donaldson, they’d be officially slamming the door shut on Devers’ development. Clearly, it would be an unnecessary win-now move for a team that needs to focus on maintaining consistency.

In general, Donaldson’s contributions are not necessary. To me, he’s a sub .250 hitter now, and he’s not the MVP dynamo he once was.

More MLB teams need to be cautious with their spending, and Boston should spearhead that movement. Giving him a chance would mean the Sox are moving on from Steve Pearce too, someone who’s turned into a folk hero overnight.

The only way I could see Dave Dombrowski making a move like this is if he plans on trading Devers for some reinforcements in the pitching department, especially since his value is higher than it’s ever been in his short career. Just him wouldn’t be enough to land a big arm. There would have to be some kind of package involved.

Regardless, Dombrowski needs to focus on the little things. There’s no need to make crazy moves at this very moment. The Boston Red Sox had one of the greatest MLB seasons in recent memory. Why screw that up for a struggling injury-prone third baseman past his prime?