BOSTON — Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson has not yet decided whether he will play in 2024 or pursue a career after this season.
“I don’t know,” Donaldson told The Athletic on Sunday, before the Yankees lost both ends of a doubleheader at Fenway Park to the Red Sox. “It just depends on how I’m feeling going through this year and this season and all of that and talking to my family. But that’s really the case – I’m not only asked that by you, but also by other people.
Donaldson, 37, is in the final season of his four-year, $92 million contract. It’s the Florida native’s 13th big league season, a career that includes a 2015 American League MVP honor, three All-Star appearances and stints in Oakland, Toronto, Cleveland, Atlanta and Minnesota.
He said he hasn’t given much thought to his baseball future.
“It would be, ‘What would be best?'” he said. “If I feel like I still want to play and I’m happy with my family situation, then that’s what I want to do. … But I didn’t think about it any further.”
Donaldson will start the day off Monday and have .151 in 17 games with six home runs, eight RBI and a .724 OPS. He was out for about two months at the start of the season with a right thigh muscle strain.
While he’s still clearly a high-level defender, his recent performance on the field hasn’t quite matched the reputation he’s built and earned him the nickname “Bringer of Rain.” Donaldson averaged .222 in 132 games last season with 15 homers, 62 RBI and a .682 OPS — his first in the Bronx.
On Sunday morning, he said he’d been feeling “really good” on the record for the past few days.
“I hit a lot of balls hard,” he said. “Unfortunately, some of these have not fallen at the moment. … I feel really good where I am and I haven’t gotten to the point of playing every day yet.”
Donaldson’s average exit speed on Sunday was 92.2 mph – better than the 90.7 mph average exit speed he achieved last season. He said he’s feeling better physically this season than last year.
“The fact that I’m making solid contact (and hitting the ball hard in the air) and the more I can do that, the more I feel like I can get results at the plate,” he said.
Manager Aaron Boone said Donaldson’s attacks encouraged him.
“He’s hitting the ball hard, which is good,” Boone said. “I think if you push through and go through the shots, he’s hit a lot of balls hard, even if the (shot) average isn’t good yet.” . (If) he keeps doing that, we’ll be fine here in seven months. It was nice to see him hit the ball so hard. Hopefully he gets more results from it. I feel like he’s moving great on the field, but I hope he can continue to build on what I think is good hitting ability.”
(Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images)