5 Thoughts on the Blue Jays Trade of Brett Lawrie (+) for Josh Donaldson

So after a very bland and boring week in Blue Jays land on Friday Night at around 10:30pm it was leaked that the Blue Jays have traded Canadian 3rd baseman Brett Lawrie, Starting pitcher Kendall Graveman,  Starting pitcher Sean Nolin, and International SS Franklin Barreto to the Oakland Athletics for All-Star 3rd baseman Josh F@cking Donaldson.



Needless to say Blue Jays nation went god damn bananas!

Here are my 5 initial thoughts on the trade!

1.I'm still a little bit shocked that Brett Lawrie was traded to be quite honest!  When he joined the team after being dealt for Shaun Marcum, it seemed inevitable that he would be a staple in the Blue Jays organization.  He seemed to have all the physical tools that one would need to make it the Big Leads + he was Canadian.  The Jays had never had a full fledge Canadian Star on the team and this seemed like their best shot to have one.  Those elements lead me to believe we would see Lawrie around for a while.  Well since making his MLB debut he's been injury prone and very inconsistent, couple that with the fact that the Jays now have another potential Canadian Star and one Proven Canadian star on their roster, the time just seems right to capitalize on the value that Lawrie has.



2. Oh the three prospects that went to the Athletics most Jays fans probably only saw limited innings pitched by Graveman and Nolin at best.  Most of the word on the Interwebs is that Barreto could be the key of the deal and he's still only 18.  For me I like what I saw out of Graveman this year and was a little disappointed his name was out 1st of all the prospects going the other way.  I'm a big fan of having sinker ball pitchers in the Dome and he definitely was that.  Oh well!  Prospects will break your heart!



3. Again much like the Martin FA signing this deal doesn't fix an immediate need that the Jays had.  We still don't have a Left Fielder, A working Bullpen and an acceptable option at 2nd base.  That being said, both deals have made us better at each position, they haven't really handcuffed the team financially and they make the team more appealing to other possible FA targets.  The whole concept of AA having an off-season plan and not deviating from it is getting extremely difficult to ignore!



4.  I'm not going to pretend that I heard this exactly word for word, however today on PTS Shi Davidi said something along the lines that John Gibbons want to eliminate the immaturity in the club house.  Well I guess after the way the off-season has a gone already it's fair to assume who those player were who Gibbons thoughts were "immature".





5. JOSH DONALDSON!  WOW!  Still can't believe that this trade was out there to make.  In Donaldson we pretty much get the guy who we all wanted Brett Lawrie to be!   Being able to put a talent like him into the middle of our line-up instantly makes the Blue Jays better.   I'm not exactly sure how his game will translate into the AL East, but you would think a great hitter going to one of the best hitters ball parks in the league it should be a good thing.  We will have to see how he get's accustomed to playing on the turf, most guys need some time to get used to the unique playing conditions that the turf provide.



Bonus Thought!  I can't believe the Red Sox weren't in on a deal like this....They have the prospects to make it happen and I would think they would rather give up a few pieces rather than give Pablo Sandoval almost 100M over 5 years!