The Yankees did what many thought was impossible earlier this week: they released third baseman Josh Donaldson. This was met with elation and relief from Yankee fans. First of all, because it was a long time coming. Second of all, because news started to leak of a possible September return to the field for him.
Now they don’t have to see him at Yankee Stadium again this year, right? Not so fast.
Donaldson signed a minor-league deal on Thursday with the Milwaukee Brewers:
The Brewers have signed Josh Donaldson to a minor-league contract.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) August 31, 2023
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It was also reported that Donaldson would be heading to Milwaukee’s Triple-A club in Nashville. But according to USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale, Donaldson could be back in the big leagues within the next week:
Josh Donaldson is expected to be on the #Brewers major-league roster within a week.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 31, 2023
Obviously, we have to consider the source and take it with a grain of salt. It’s most certainly within the range of possible outcomes, though. If the 2015 AL MVP does get back to the bigs on that timeline, he’ll be with the Brewers at Yankee Stadium. No, I’m not kidding:
Oh god Josh Donaldson is hitting 7 Home Runs if he gets brought up for this series pic.twitter.com/EhOePZKfUJ
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) August 31, 2023
If you want to see this proof for yourself, you can do so here. If you’re feeling like this is déjà vu all over again, that’s because you’d be correct. Just over a month after the Yankees finally gave up on outfielder Aaron Hicks, he returned to Yankee Stadium at the beginning of July as a member of the Orioles. Hicks started all three games and collected three hits in 13 plate appearances. One of those knocks was a solo home run.
So, should we start placing bets on whether the Yankees will do a tribute video or not for Donaldson? I’m going to go with no. If there’s even a thought about it, they hopefully learn from what happened earlier this week at Citi Field.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
