Josh Donaldson joined the Brewers acting as if he was still an MVP-caliber player, not the massive disappointment who wore pinstripes these past two years.
Brewers first baseman Rowdy Tellez, who played with Donaldson on the Blue Jays in 2018, detailed how Donaldson introduced himself to his new team.
“He came in the clubhouse and walked straight by, and I was like, ‘Hey,’ – along with a couple of other words after that – ‘when you walk in the clubhouse, you introduce yourself to your new teammates,” Tellez said on “Foul Territory.’ “And he goes, ‘Everybody knows who I am.’
“And then, I was like, ‘Yeah, hey, and when you see a former teammate, you say what’s up.’
“And he was like, ‘Hey, are you on the seafood diet?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, good one … See food, eat food. Beat you to it. F–k off.’”
Donaldson is known for being a polarizing teammate, with his act being welcomed by some and frowned upon by others.
It’s part of the reason why Donaldson has played for six teams since 2018, despite being a productive player until the moment he joined the Yankees.
Donaldson reportedly wore out his welcome with Minnesota, which signed him to a four-year deal before foisting him on the Yankees with two years remaining on his contract.
“I think the Donaldson trade was bad from the start because the Yankees knew just how poorly he was getting along with people in Minnesota,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan said in August. “There was some toxicity going on there. I don’t think you can look at the Donaldson trade in any positive way.”
The Yankees finally released Donaldson after a disappointing two-year stretch in which he hit .207 with a .678 OPS spanning 165 games, although he did play good defense at third base.
Donaldson then latched on with the Brewers, who essentially took on Donaldson as a lottery ticket in hopes he could provide a jolt for a team needing offensive help.
The 2015 AL MVP is slashing .191/.296/.447/.743 for the NL Central champions, which is actually a step up from his .142/.225/.434/.659 slashline with the Yankees this year.
“He is playing good baseball for us, he really is,” Tellez said. “He’s having big at-bats, good at-bats, he’s great in the clubhouse for everybody.”
The Foul Territory crew needled Tellez that he was afraid of Donaldson, to which he replied: “I wasn’t scared of him to start with. I absolutely was not.”
Tellez and the Brewers can put up with Donaldson’s antics provided he hits, and he’s been more productive than he was in Pinstripes.
“Everybody knows JD can be a little over the top,” Tellez said. “He’s been a good spark plug and helping us out as young players too. Keeping guys ready. He’s a pro, he’s been doing it a long time, he’s an MVP. You watch what he does and he’s been nothing like what you expected and what I’ve seen from the young JD.”
Tellez, Donaldson and the Brewers are locked into the NL’s third seed and will host the six seed in the wild card series next week.
The Diamondbacks, Cubs, Marlins and Reds are competing for two spots, with the Cubs currently a half-game ahead of the Marlins for the six seed.