Upon being traded to the New York Yankees prior to the 2022 season, the 2x silver slugger and 3x All Star’s career hit the skids. In 182 games between the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the now 38-year-old’s slashed just .204/.293/.386 (.678 OPS, 90 OPS+).

So on Monday, with the MLB now a couple weeks into 2024 spring training, Donaldson announced he is officially hanging up his cleats and calling it a career. He broke the news on “The Mayor’s Office” with Sean Casey, sporting a Row The Boat t-shirt.

Josh Donaldson wore a Row The Boat shirt today for his official retirement announcement. pic.twitter.com/euNFIB7ntk

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) March 5, 2024

But that was pretty much the extent of how much Minnesota was featured during Josh’s nearly 1-hour retirement announcement, in which he went team-by-team through his career timeline. If Donaldson spent two years with the Twins and his retirement show/announcement went through his entire career in that much detail, why was time with the Twins cut short?

Josh Donaldson wears Row The Boat t-shirt but keeps Minnesota Twins talk short

Well, the obvious answer to that question is the show he was on, which is a national baseball talk show style podcast hosted by former MLB player turned MLB Network analyst, Sean Casey, who has no affiliation with the Twins outside of his time in Cleveland during his playing career.

I can’t blame the shortened Twins segment fully on the mainstream media constantly looking down on little old us, though. When the timeline of Donaldson’s career reached Minnesota, he started talking about how the 2020 season (his Twins debut) was postponed right before teams were wrapping up spring training.

Related: Carlos Santana Looks Like Twins’ Everyday Starter at 1B, Meaning Alex Kirilloff Needs to Mash

That prompted questions about what it was like to play for a new team while dealing with all of the COVID restrictions in place at that time. Donaldson was frank about how difficult it was to really build team comradery when you were never allowed to hang out as a team.

“From a team aspect, it just made it very difficult because we weren’t allowed to be around each other for more than 15 to 20 minutes at a time, you got to be wearing masks, we were gone for four months and then, within two weeks, like, ‘hey let’s go play’. It made it difficult for myself and guys that weren’t there prior to it, to really be like… in it, like [bonding] and ‘in the trenches’ with everybody. Because were weren’t allowed to hang out. We were barely able to eat lunch together.”

Josh Donaldson during retirement announcement on “The Mayor’s Office” with Sean Casey

And that was about it. Casey’s co-host, Rich Ciancimino, asked a more general question about what it was like and how the entire shutdown happened and how it was communicated to the players at the time. After Donaldson answered Ciancimino’s question, Casey took back over and moved the conversation to Donaldson’s time with the Yankees. Classic.

I think the Minnesota Twins were mentioned a total of four times during the nearly hour-long show. In other words, Twins talk today during Josh’s retirement announcement was even shorter lived than his time wearing a Minnesota Twins uniform.

Related: Denard Span Hired as TV Analyst for Minnesota Twins Games

Don’t twist my words, though. I appreciate the time JD spent as a Twin and he gave us some pretty memorable moments while here. I will always appreciate him for that. There aren’t a lot of players in this franchise’s history who constantly searched for a fight night-in and night-out like Josh did. And he hit his fair share of big time missiles too.

Josh Donaldson has retired. I was super excited when he signed, but much less so as time went on and then there was this clown show behavior in 2020. pic.twitter.com/COM54zHrYq

— Jeff (@MNTwinsZealot) March 4, 2024

Josh Donaldson is retiring. Will never forget the time when he called out the White Sox pitching staff for using tack, then backed it up in the same day. pic.twitter.com/SUtRfU4dmG

— Prime Lee (@PrimeLee_) March 4, 2024

Related: Twins Trade SS Prospect to Dodgers for Outfielder Manuel Margot and More…

Will never forget “post team meeting” Josh Donaldson he was special… pic.twitter.com/516Vev3VJg

— Twins Insider (@PrimePopkins) March 4, 2024

Josh Donaldson slashed .272/.368/.531 (.899) during tie games in his career. He hit 12 tie breaking home runs in a #MNTwins uniform.

Donaldson in tie games w/ MIN…

2020
28 PA
.240/.321/.480 (.801)
2 home runs

2021
163 PA
.324/.417/.590 (1.007)
10 home runs pic.twitter.com/1pNtUS0Bwh

— Twins Dingers (@TwinsDingers) March 4, 2024

Josh Donaldson slashed .329/.433/.686 (1.119) in high leverage situations for #MNTwins in 2021, according to @baseball_ref. His seven high leverage homers were second on the team that season.

Miguel Sano – 8
Josh Donaldson – 7
Jorge Polanco – 6
3 tied – 3 pic.twitter.com/0WSPAAc3gN

— Twins Dingers (@TwinsDingers) March 4, 2024

Twins have no interest in bringing Josh Donaldson back.

In both cases, he checked on whether or not the Minnesota Twins would have interest. For Donaldson, the answer was a definitive “no”.

—The Twins badly need a third baseman, but have no interest in re-acquiring Josh Donaldson from the Yankees.

Bob Nightengale – USA Today Sports

Donaldson is recovering from a hamstring injury but his rehab assignment was pushed back after he sliced his thumb while assembling something at home. The Yankees would love for another team to offer ANYTHING in exchange for Donaldson, when he eventually returns to full health. Thankfully, that team won’t be the Twins.

Before his injury, Donaldson hit .125 in 16 at-bats this season. It wasn’t the start he had hoped for, after struggling in his first season with the Yankees, after the Twins traded him in exchange for Gio Urshela and Gary Sanchez the offseason before. Their lack of interest makes even more sense given Royce Lewis could be ready to take over at 3rd base in just over one week.

Could Twins want Aaron Hicks back?

The Yankees designated 33-year-old Aaron Hicks for assignment on Saturday. That means they have one week to trade or release him. Finding a trade partner is very unlikely so they’re expected to pay the final $30 million he’s owed before cutting him loose.

—Center fielder Aaron Hicks, who still has 2 ½ years left on his seven-year, $70 million contract, was designated for assignment by the Yankees. 

Considering how well Sonny Gray and Joey Gallo have fared in Minnesota since their departure from New York, maybe the Twins should call and bring Hicks back. 

Bob Nightengale – USA Today Sports

When Hicks reaches free agency, the Twins seem like an obvious landing spot. After all, he was drafted in the 1st round (14th overall) by the Twins and started his major league career in Minnesota, before he was traded to the Yankees following the 2015 season.

On This Date 07/10/2013: with the game tied in the 10th inning and the winning run on first base, Aaron Hicks made this game-saving catch.#Twins @AaronHicks31 @OTDTwinsHistory pic.twitter.com/OHbSM435Hz

— Brad Badini ⚾️ (@celeBRADtion) July 11, 2019

The 2023 Twins could use another established veteran in their outfield rotation, given the injuries they’ve dealt with to this point continue to deal with (Kepler, Gallo, Larnach, Kirilloff, Buxton).

While Nightengale’s Hicks + Twins steam reads as more conjecture than actual reporting, it’s clear Bob has been in contact with sources inside the Minnesota Twins organization recently. It’d be a weird coincidence that he mentions Hicks + Twins in the same article he rules out any chance of a Josh Donaldson reunion.

Also included in the same article are quotes from Rocco Baldelli and Joey Gallo, about Gallo’s 2023 resurgence. Again, it seems weird that Nightengale would throw the Hicks steam out there, without checking on the Twins’ interest, when he’s already talking to his Twins sources about other news nuggets (like Donaldson and Gallo)

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Catcher Ben Rortvedt is headed to the Yankees along with Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, sources tell ESPN. Catcher Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela are going to Minnesota.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 14, 2022

What is happening?

It’s difficult to know what this move means for the Twins competitiveness this season. There have been conflicting reports coming from respected national baseball reporters (Rosenthal vs Nightengale) on whether or not the Twins plan flip Sanchez, much like they did with Kiner-Falefa.

With moves they had made leading up to this one, it felt like the Minnesota front office was well on its way to fielding a competitive team baseball team, come April 7. And while this trade doesn’t necessarily signal a rebuild, it’s certainly a step backwards for their immediate chances.

But what’s clear, is how much money they will save now and into the future. Josh Donaldson was on the books for $23 million in 2022 and $21 million in 2023. Sanchez and Urshela will combine to make just $14 million in 2022 and both are scheduled to be free agents when the season is over.

Twins' payroll is roughly $95 million right now, about $40 million below their recent spending levels.

They're back to needing a shortstop, with Carlos Correa and Trevor Story still unsigned.

They still need a starting pitcher, but there are no high-end free agents remaining.

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) March 14, 2022

What Falvine does with money they’ve saved is what will dictate their relevancy in the upcoming season. If the Minnesota Twins really want to win now, they’ll double down and deal for more and better pitching. Currently, they sit $40 million short of what they paid in 2021 player salaries.

Stay tuned.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

So the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox are playing in a series that means absolutely nothing, at this point in the season. The Sox are up by 12.5 games on the Twins are going into sell mode.

But last night, Josh Donaldson hit a first inning home run and and made the series interesting by screaming, “hands not sticky anymore!”, as he crossed home plate.

That caused a reaction from Giolito on the post game press conference where he called Donaldson “a fucking pest”, among other things.

Donaldson Speaks

Josh chose not to speak with media after the game last night but did plenty of talking when he sat down with them pregame this afternoon. I’ll leave you with this… Josh Donaldson is the winner of this round and the scorecard wasn’t close.

Josh Donaldson said that he caught Lucas Giolito in the parking lot last night on the way out of the ballpark, in order to address Giolito face-to-face after he asked for that last night.

He said Giolito didn’t have much to say in response.

— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) June 30, 2021

Donaldson, on his talk with Giolito:

“He said that he thought I was annoying. I said, ‘So what? I’m on the opposing team. What do you care about me?’ I said, ‘I’m in your face. I’m telling you what I think. What have you got to say about that?’ And he didn’t have any response.”

— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) June 30, 2021

I asked Donaldson about how he feels about all this blowing up in the media.

As part of a much longer response that strayed all over the place, including to Ozzie Guillén’s OPS as a player, this part is indicative of why he’s so passionate about the issue: pic.twitter.com/CsAnN7MVO8

— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) June 30, 2021

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Did you know that optimism still existed in this world for the 2021 Minnesota Twins. Mine died about a month ago and most lost their enthusiasm for this season long before that. But, little did I know that the Twins have been on a bit of a run over the last week+. That’s right, they’ve actually won seven of their last nine games while the division-leading Sox have lost eight of their last nine.

Then on Monday morning (via the Star Tribune), I read about a pregame “this is our time” speech that Josh Donaldson gave to the team yesterday before they went out and stomped Cleveland 8-2, to take the series on getaway day. Donaldson did his part by hitting a moon shot blast into the left field upper deck in the 3rd inning.

Josh Donaldson goes Herb Brooks on Twins locker room pregame

But to hear Rocco Baldelli tell it, Donaldson’s biggest contribution to the Twins’ 8-2 victory, and perhaps even to their 2021 season, came 90 minutes before first pitch.

That’s when Donaldson gathered teammates in the clubhouse and delivered an urgent message he believes they needed to hear:

Now is our time.

“This is an important part of our season right now,” the 10-year veteran said, pointing out that the last-place Twins play nothing but AL Central opponents for the next 3½ weeks, including 10 games with the first-place White Sox. “I just wanted people to understand the opportunity that’s at hand right now, and get our mentality focused on winning ballgames.”

“The last couple weeks, we’ve been putting some games together and playing better baseball, and I just wanted to emphasize, hey, this is the moment, right now,” Donaldson said. “Everybody else is starting to get tired. We need to go out there and pick it up a notch.”

Josh Donaldson – via Phil Miller: Star Tribune (6/28)

I had to pull up the AL Central standings just to see what I was missing. The answer: nothing.

Everything mentioned in the clip above is true. The White Sox are sliding and the Twins have been playing better. Not only that, but Baldelli and Co will play a BUNCH of games vs division opponents in the coming month, including two handfuls vs the division leading White Sox. So sure, a small opportunity is there. But don’t get your hopes up yet.

A Look at Reality

If they’re going to sniff a playoff race, the Minnesota Twins have to finish this season with the greatest comeback in team history, as Nick Nelson (Twins Daily) points out below. But this isn’t just about the history. The Twins 2021 bullpen is terrible and their starting rotation isn’t any better.

Sure, the offense has been good and sits top-5 in most 2021 statistical categories that matter, including OPS (5th), OPS+ (3rd) and HR’s (3rd). But they somehow struggle to drive runs in, landing at league average in RBI (13th). Oh, and their best player, Byron Buxton, can’t stay on the field. After his most recent injury, Buxton isn’t expected back for a month or more.

Twins need to go 57-29 from here on out to reach 90 wins. In other words, they need to win 2 for every 1 loss.

In 2006 the Twins went 55-31 after June 28th.

— Nick Nelson (@NickNelsonMN) June 28, 2021

Look, I want to believe too. Nothing could make this summer like a historic Minnesota Twins run at an impossible playoff appearance. But, now is not the time to get your hopes up. There’s just too much left for them to accomplish and they don’t appear to have the makeup of a team that can pull off such a feat.

But hell, if they sweep the White Sox over the next three days, let’s meet back here and re-evaluate.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Twins desperately need a victory so Byron Buxton, Josh Donaldson, Nelson Cruz and Jorge Polanco took the game upon themselves at the top of the order today in Cleveland. The Twins top-four hitters said hello to the YouTube “Game of the Week” crew by hitting three home runs and jumping out to a 4-0 lead before (SP) Logan Allen recorded an out!

.@OfficialBuck103. @BringerOfRain20. Back-to-back to start the game ???? pic.twitter.com/Nk9Slo1fe3

— MLB (@MLB) April 28, 2021

The @Twins are teeing off in the 1st inning. pic.twitter.com/HYrCpoW0kU

— MLB (@MLB) April 28, 2021

THE MINNESOTA TWINS ARE SICK OF LOSING AND THEY ARE TAKING THEIR ANGER OUT ON LOGAN ALLEN WHO MIGHT NOT GET AN OUT IN THE FIRST INNING.

BUCK: HR
JOSH: HR
CRUZ: BB
JORGE: HR

4-0 GOOD GUYS IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING???? #MNTWINS

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) April 28, 2021

The Twins would fail to get another runner on base after that 4-run outburst that started the game, though they did hit a couple more balls with authority. There’s a lot of game left and I can promise that fans in Minnesota know better than to count any chickens before they hatch, but we couldn’t have asked for a better start today.

Watch the rest of today’s game here on YouTube (free):

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Twins lost both ends of a doubleheader Wednesday vs the Boston Red Sox, putting them behind 0-3 in the four-game series and winless in their last six games. Now 5-7, the Twins have fallen to last place in the American League Central and fans are starting to get dry mouth, if they’re not already in full fledged panic mode.

Byron Buxton missed both games today with “right hamstring tightness” and Miguel Sano couldn’t hit a beach ball with a 2 x 4 if you underhanded it to him. On top of that, Jose Berrios and Kenta Maeda were the losing pitchers, meaning the hurlers will only get worse before they get better.

So, panic is probably the right emotion….

#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/x3Siu1P7Uw

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) April 14, 2021

But wait…

But let’s take a deeper look before we start selling all of our assets for future hope. There’s plenty of that “H” word to hold onto for the current club. Like, Byron Buxton. Sure, he didn’t play today and that sucks. But, if sitting Buxton for two losses today means that he plays more games throughout the year, I’m happy to make the sacrifice.

Especially when Buxton is finally blossoming into the great player he was once touted to be. Entering Wednesday, Buxton was leading the league in WAR, slugging %, OPS, and offensive win %. He was also 2nd in batting average and 5th in on-base %. If Byron plays 120 games this season he might win MVP.

Donaldson is Back too

We also got to see Josh Donaldson again today. He went 1 for 2 and immediately stretched out his hamstring, running from 1st to 3rd on a base hit and then tagging home for a run scored. It was good to see him open things up a little bit and still stand up looking healthy. That’s a victory in my book.

DONALDSON WENT FROM FIRST TO THIRD AND HE’S OK pic.twitter.com/BOJRZvxZ4F

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) April 14, 2021

Hopefully we get all three of Buxton (.469 AVG), Donaldson (.667 AVG) and Cruz (.438 AVG) in the middle of the Twins lineup tomorrow. The more often we can put those three together, the more likely we are to pile up wins. At the end of the season, 2021’s success will be dictated by the health of Donaldson and Buxton. So far, neither guy has had any severe injuries BUT they’ve obviously left us plenty to be concerned about.

Sano Will Be Fine

Stop worrying about Miguel Sano. He’s always been a slow starter and maybe he always will be. Keep giving him at-bats and let him hit himself out of his slump. Sano is a big league hitter and pitchers are still afraid of him. He’ll turn it around and he’ll be a huge contributor at points throughout this season. When he does, he’ll be our best and most dangerous hitter. And that’s saying something.

As long as the Minnesota Twins stay mostly healthy, we’ll only be concerned with playoff victories at the end of the season. So far, we still have a full team in-tact and a lot of season left to play. So until something changes on the injury front, I’ll be over here unconcerned.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Josh Donaldson made it through an entire spring training without any issues and the Minnesota Twins entered the regular season with a fully healthy roster. But all of that changed in Donaldson’s first at-bat this afternoon on Opening Day.

Josh smoked a pitch into the left-center gap but something happened while he was rounding 1st base. At least that’s how it appeared. If Donaldson was pulled because of reaggravating his calf injury, that’s really bad news. At best, it shows just how easily Donaldson’s calf can be tweaked. At worst, we could see him out of the lineup for an extended period of time. *The Twins have announced Donaldson’s injury as being a “right hamstring tightness” (see below)

Here is the Josh Donaldson injury, woof not good #mntwins pic.twitter.com/vibKZkp9rk

— Alex Micheletti (@AlexMicheletti) April 1, 2021

Josh Donaldson 2021 calf scare counter: 1#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/h9sb8GY1W4

— Tom Froemming (@TFTwins) April 1, 2021

Unfortunately, this is not an April Fool’s Day joke. I’ll be back with any updates.

UPDATE

Donaldson’s injury has been listed as a hamstring strain.

The #MNTwins announce a tight right hamstring for Josh Donaldson.

— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) April 1, 2021

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Twins have now been in spring training for a couple of weeks and they’ve even played a handful of exhibition games. Well, most of the Twins have. Josh Donaldson, who was one of the first hitters to arrive in Fort Myers, is yet to make his 2021 exhibition game debut.

According to Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com, that will hopefully change on Sunday.

Rocco said he and the #MNTwins are likely targeting Sunday for Josh Donaldson's spring debut.

— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) March 4, 2021

Josh is coming off of a forgettable 2020 on the baseball field but he’s not the only Twin who can say that. For Donaldson, his health will dictate his contribution. If easing him into spring training is going to help keep him healthy long-term, then I’m all for it.

Who is that on base?

Because of shortened rosters, the Minnesota Twins had to apparently use the smallest, skinniest scout available to pinch run in the 7th inning of Thursday’s televised spring training game. Confirmed by Dan Hayes (The Athletic), his name is Franki Pedulo. He’s a Twins advanced scout who played college baseball at Cornell.

Methinks the #MNTwins snuck advance scout @OchoDulo into the game this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/CPrxN9DAhg

— Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) March 4, 2021

Left Field (Alex Kirilloff) Watch

Alex Kirilloff looked sexy as hell swinging that bat today, which is absolutely no surprise to anyone who’s watched him mash in the past. Kirilloff went 2/4 with a double he smoked off the wall. I don’t know why his base hit is on social media and not his double but if I get my hands on the 2B, I’ll add it below.

Should Alex hit over .275 with power during spring training, I don’t know how the Twins will keep him down in AAA, given all the consternation currently surrounding service time and the MLB.

.@AKirilloff19 in the batter's box is a work of art. ????@Twins // #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/MCvCieNAFt

— FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) March 4, 2021

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Twins will start reporting to Fort Myers for Spring Training on Thursday. On paper, this is a team that should rack up a bunch of wins and compete near the top of the American League throughout the 2021 season. If the Twins are going to reach their potential, however, they will need historically injury-riddled players to remain healthy.

Outside of Nelson Cruz at DH (who is 40 years old) and Max Kepler in RF, there really isn’t a regular starter in the Minnesota batting lineup who hasn’t battled injuries in recent seasons.

The chart below shows games played for every individual season since 2017, by all of the projected Twins’ starting fielders. Nelson Cruz was left out as the DH and the Twins don’t have a regular right fielder until they call up Alex Kirilloff in late-April. It’s also worth noting that Mitch Garver didn’t see regular playing time in the majors until 2018.

Jorge Polanco, Andrelton Simmons and Max Kepler are the only projected lineup regulars who have played over 75% of their teams’ games since 2017. Both Kepler and Simmons dealt with injuries during the shortened 2020 season, however.

Josh Donaldson and Byron Buxton

Without seeing the future, these two guys have the most concerning injury history. Josh Donaldson has just one healthy season in his last three and Twins President, Dave St. Peter, sounded cautious when projecting optimism for Donaldson’s health going into 2021 on KFAN earlier this week. His calves should keep you up at night, as a Twins fan.

Obviously, we all know Byron Buxton’s history with injuries. His body is made of glass but he plays baseball like a bull in a china shop. He’s participated in about 50% of his games since 2017, so flip a coin and tell me how 2021 goes…

If healthy, these two guys + Andrelton Simmons will make Minnesota one of the best defensive teams in the American League. Unfortunately, their injury history tampers that excitement. As long as Simmons doesn’t have to race to 1st base too often… he and his ankle should be fine, given the history we see above.

Best Case

If the best cased scenario plays out for the Minnesota Twins and their health in 2021, then this lineup and defense will carry them to an AL Central crown.

There isn’t a pitcher in the MLB who wants to face Kepler, into a healthy Donaldson, into Cruz, into Polanco, into a healthy Sano and there aren’t very many balls that would get past or land between Donaldson, Simmons, Buxton and Kepler.

I have a hard time not seeing a healthy Minnesota Twins as one of the most fun to watch throughout the league in 2021.

Worst Case

The worst case scenario for this Twins lineup would decimate our 2021 odds of making the playoffs out of a tough division. It’s not that difficult to imagine a scenario where Donaldson’s calves aren’t healthy from Opening Day, Byron Buxton misses half the season, Simmons debut is ruined by bad ankles and Miguel Sano hurts himself swinging or celebrating too hard.

Minnesota had one of the best pitching staffs in the MLB last season but that’s not expected to be the case in 2021. It’s certainly not seen as a group that will carry this Twins team to an AL Central crown.

If this team is hampered by major injury issues throughout the season, they’ll be in major trouble.

Something in between

Most likely, 2021 will play out somewhere between the best and worst case scenarios listed above. But the Twins, more than just about any team in Major League Baseball, will need players with injury-riddled pasts to remain mostly healthy and contribute to their lineup in big ways.

So, pray to whatever god you prefer or knock on whatever hardwood you have available… that our Minnesota Twins remain healthy in a 2021 season where fans are desperate for some local team success.

Speaking of fans, it’d be really nice to get them back in the Target Field stands. Contact your governor if you agree.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan