The trade of Josh Donaldson by the Oakland Athletics to the Toronto Blue Jays seemingly shocked everyone across the baseball landscape…well, except for those closest to the situation.
Scott Miller of Bleacher Report paints the picture of star player clashing swords with his GM over what seems to be a largely mundane situation.
Multiple sources cite a verbal altercation between the two after Donaldson told manager Bob Melvin he needed a couple of days off after Oakland had played several days in a row. The story goes, Beane told Donaldson if he needed a couple of days off, the club should put him on the disabled list, and that made Donaldson unhappy.
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“Donaldson told the manager he needed a blow, and [Bob] Melvin said, ‘You got it,’ ” the source said. “Then that night’s lineup came out and Billy asked, ‘Where’s Donaldson?’ ”
When told what happened, the source says, an angry Beane demanded that Melvin put Donaldson back into the lineup.
“They got into it in the coach’s office,” the source says, describing a scene in which Beane lit into Donaldson, with the third baseman reiterating his need for a day off and petulantly calling Beane “Billy Boy.”
“Nobody talks to Billy that way,” the source said. “It did not surprise me in the least that he got rid of Donaldson.”
Not only was this situation a head-on collision between Donaldson and Beane, it was also an example of Beane undermining Bob Melvin’s authority in the clubhouse. Why let the manager manage his team? I’m sure he knows what’s going on in Donaldson’s head a lot better than Beane does.
Maybe this fatigue helps explain Donaldson struggling to a .233/.307/.379 line in September.
