The Oakland Athletics have traded Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for four players.
For Donaldson, the A's will receive third baseman Brett Lawrie, right-hander Kendall Graveman, left-hander Sean Nolin and minor league shortstop Franklin Barreto.
Donaldson told the San Francisco Chronicle that he was playing video games when his agent texted him about the trade.
"I'm so shocked," Donaldson told the newspaper. "I just got off the phone with [general manager] Billy Beane, and I guess they got an offer that they couldn't resist. I'm definitely a little emotional about it. Oakland is my home. At the end of the day, it's a business, as much as it hurts emotionally. The guys in that clubhouse are my brothers."
Beane considers both pitchers ready for the majors.
"They had been pretty persistent, and we were pretty adamant that wasn't something we were willing to talk about," Beane said of dealing Donaldson. "We wouldn't have done the deal unless it addressed now and the future, and they were able to do that. This deal in our minds addresses a little bit of everything. It got pretty serious the last 48 hours. They were reluctant to give up all four players, and we weren't going to do it without those four players in the deal."
According to wins above replacement, only Mike Trout has been more valuable than Donaldson over the past two seasons.
Via ESPN
