The Oakland Athletics have traded star third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for infielder Brett Lawrie as well as minor league shortstop Franklin Barreto and pitchers Sean Nolin and Kendall Graveman, according to reports from Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, and Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

Donaldson, the biggest piece in the deal, has been the A’s best player and by many measures the best third baseman in baseball over the past few years, collecting 53 home runs and 192 RBI since 2013. Including his fantastic defense in the hot corner, Donaldson has a 15.4 rWAR and 14.1 fWAR in that time period.

Lawrie, who along with Donaldson was widely considered a cornerstone player for his club, has shown flashes of his great potential but has also battled injuries over the last few years, playing in just 177 games combined between the last two seasons. Lawrie played in just 70 games in an injury-plagued 2014 season where he hit just .247 with 12 home runs. Known as a fiery player, Lawrie has the ability to play both second and third base very well. He will most likely be inserted as the A’s starting third baseman, but it’s possible that team could shift Lawrie to second if they sign a third baseman like Chase Headley.

The other pieces in the deal that Oakland is receiving help make up the major gap in value between Lawrie and Donaldson. Those players are minor league infielder Franklin Barreto and pitchers Sean Nolin and Kendall Graveman.

Read more on the prospects changing hands, the trade overall, and its possible impacts from Yahoo Sports, The Toronto Star, and The San Francisco Chronicle.

 

Feature image used under Creative Commons from Keith Allison. No changes made. Creative Commons License.