Certainly, Josh Donaldson cannot be the one to blame for the putrid 2021 season; that existed outside of his sphere of influence. Unless he secretly siphoned off all the talent from the pitching staff while bullying Max Kepler by placing pictures of his BABIP in his locker before every game, the disastrous year should not be attributed to him. In fact, I would argue that he did exactly what the team asked of him. His somewhat disappointing 124 wRC+ masks batted ball data that suggests he should
A little over two years ago, reports broke that the Twins agreed with Josh Donaldson on a four-year $92 million deal. It’s a surreal experience to look back on that day. Not only was the news groundbreaking—the Twins broke the dam and finally signed a big-name free agent to an expensive contract, but the memory exists in a time and place just weeks before COVID would alter our lives forever. There was hope (at least, as much hope that could exist amongst Minnesota sports fans), as the winds of change seemed to blow in our favor for once. Now? I’m left wondering what ultimately is Donaldson’s legacy on the Twins.
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