Blows just keep being delivered to the New York Yankees. Major players already on the injured list include Nestor Cortes, Frankie Montas, and Aaron Judge. They now have placed third baseman Josh Donaldson on the IL with a calf strain. There is currently no time table for his return, but there is a fear that his season may be over.
New York Yankees Josh Donaldson diagnosed with grade 2+-grade 3 calf strain (MLB News).
Greg Joyce of the New York Post relayed that Josh Donaldson’s calf strain was of the grade 2+-grade 3 severity. After the news was announced the only indication for a timeline given from Yankees personnel was that he would be out for a ‘ decent amount of time’.
Josh Donaldson is no stranger to soft tissue injuries like this. He has had calf strains before and this year a hamstring injury caused him to miss most of the first half. This latest injury likely puts his return in 2023 in jeopardy.
In just over 100 at-bats this season Donaldson has a .142 batting average and .225 on-base percentage, but he did pop 10 home runs. When healthy there still is some thump left in his bat, but he appears to be home run or bust at this point in his career.
Upon seasons end Donaldson and the Yankees have a $16 million mutual option. The buyout is $6 million. It seems likely that a buyout will occur and that the 37 year old will hit the free agent market.
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