Josh Donaldson Retirement: Former AL MVP draws curtain on MLB career after injury-riddled season

Josh Donaldson has called it a career. After 13 big-league seasons, the former AL MVP hung up his cleats. He bounced around the league a little bit in his final seasons as he continued to get older, eventually deciding to retire after not signing anywhere for the 2024 season.

Josh Donaldson debuted in 2010 with the Oakland Athletics, but he would go on to play for six other teams across those 13 big-league seasons. At age 38 and after an admittedly tough season last year, he has decided to step back.

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Josh Donaldson Retirement Came after MVP, three All-Star awards

Josh Donaldson spent the first portion of the last season with the New York Yankees, a team he was traded to the year prior. He was never able to capture his old offensive form and struggled with injuries before being DFA'd.

He would then land with the Milwaukee Brewers and did moderately well in a small sample size in helping them get to the playoffs. After a first-round exit, he became a free agent and then decided to retire.

Josh Donaldson called it a career after 13 MLB seasons

Before that, he was with the Minnesota Twins, having spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons in the twin cities. He spent one year with the Atlanta Braves in 2019. Before that, he was a prominent member of the Toronto Blue Jays (and half a season with the Cleveland Guardians). He was the 2015 AL MVP in his first year with the Jays.

Donaldson had a career batting average of .261 and hit 297 home runs, so he might end up just shy of making the Hall of Fame. Nevertheless, his 46.8 bWAR over those 13 seasons indicates that he was a very good player during his career.

Donaldson was always known as a defensive wizard, and even when his offense struggled, he played third base quite well. He only had five seasons of negative DRS, and none were lower than -3. For his career, he saved 38 runs at the position.