In his first public comments since third baseman Josh Donaldson opted to sign with Minnesota, Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos told the AJC on Wednesday that his team, which wanted badly to retain the third baseman, chose not to meet the Twins' price — $92 million over four seasons.
Said Anthopoulos: “He got a great contract with the Twins. We were given every opportunity to sign him. His agent (Dan Lozano of MVP Sports Group) was fantastic throughout the process. I’ve known Josh for years now, and he deserves this contract. I’m happy for him. Ultimately, we went as far as we thought made sense for us, and it was less than what the Twins offered.
“I don’t blame him for a minute. It’s a fantastic contract for him. He earned it. Would’ve loved to have him stay a Brave, but we ultimately had to make a decision. We felt like it was best for our club to go to a number and not go beyond that to get it done.”
Read more from Mark Bradley’s extended conversation with Anthopolous here