Josh Donaldson has yet to receive a contract-extension offer from the Toronto Blue Jays, the third baseman said Thursday afternoon.
Donaldson, who will become a free agent following the 2018 campaign, shared the news in an exchange with journalist Jon Heyman on Twitter.
Heyman, of FanRag Sports, included a tidbit in his MLB Notes column on Friday that stated Donaldson “is believed to be seeking a monster payday, according to friends, and while he may not hit his goal (some think he may be shooting too high), he benefits from Manny Machado’s move to shortstop since he’d become the top third base option if Machado stays at shortstop as a free agent.”
The former American League MVP was not pleased with Heyman’s report and relayed his thoughts in the following tweets.
Donaldson reiterated in the former tweet that he would like to remain with the Blue Jays. It’s a position he has frequently maintained, most recently during the team’s Winter Fest in January.
“As we talked about at the end of the season last year, I definitely voiced my opinion that I would like to stay here. And that hasn’t changed,” Donaldson said. “But there are certain things that go into it. [The one-year deal] was the first step that needed to be taken care of. And we went about it. And I’m very happy with how things have went. I’m looking forward to how things are going to play out in the future.”
The 32-year-old avoided arbitration with Toronto by signing a one-year, $23-million deal for 2018 last month. He hit .270/.385/.559 with 33 home runs in 113 games this past season, tallying five wins above replacement.
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said during a recent Pitch Talks event in Toronto that the club has placed an internal value on Donaldson as he approaches free agency, but stopped short of saying what that figure was.
“We do have that number,” Atkins said. “We have come up with a clear walkaway that we would be willing to commit to him to extend for him to remain a Blue Jay probably for the rest of his career.”
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