Though it’s been over 15 months since Josh Donaldson played a game in Toronto, the 2015 American League MVP went into Tuesday night’s game looking forward to finally getting some closure.
Facing the Blue Jays for the first time since he was traded to the Cleveland Indians last August, the 33-year-old third baseman said he was most looking forward to the opportunity to show the fans what he can do when he is fully healthy. Donaldson played in only 36 games for the Blue Jays in an injury-hit 2018 season.
“I didn’t want to leave on that type of sour note as far as me not even being able to play,” he said Tuesday. “That hurt because that’s not how I want people to remember me as a Blue Jay.”
However, whatever regret he felt is tempered by the fact that after helping the Blue Jays to back-to-back appearances in the American League Championship Series, including the team’s first division title since 1993, he returned to Toronto on Tuesday as part of a first-place squad.
“We had some special teams here, and at the end we weren’t competing the way that we needed to, and things changed,” he said. “I’m just glad to be back here as part of a winning team and playing at a high level again to where that fans that come out today, they’ll be able to see that.”
