Yankees' Josh Donaldson Believes he can Bounce Back in 2023

As we move towards the regular season, Josh Donaldson, despite a poor first campaign in pinstripes, is the Yankees' starting third baseman.

Last offseason, Donaldson was traded to the Yankees by the Minnesota Twins with Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt in exchange for Gio Urshela and Gary Sanchez. The Yankees picked up the remaining $42 million on Donaldson's contract as well.

In his first season in the Bronx, Donaldson had career-lows in home runs (15) and batting average (.222). He also posted an anemic .682 OPS in 132 games.

However, the veteran third baseman believes he still has good baseball left in the tank, or else he would've called it quits on his career.

“If I felt like I didn’t have anything left to offer the game, I wouldn’t have reported to camp,” Donaldson told Jon Heyman of The New York Post. “I feel like I have [something] in the tank or I wouldn’t show up. Obviously, I feel like I do. That’s why I’m here. And I’m going to give it everything I have.”

“I would retire, just for the fact that I’ve had a certain quality of production I’m used to,” Donaldson said. “I don’t want to just play to play. I want to play to win. And I want to play to help our team win. And I want to be a contributing force to that.”

Donaldson was above average defensively at third base, but at the plate he was below average.

The Yankees believe that Donaldson can still be a productive player, which is one of the reasons they're running it back with him at the hot corner. The other reason, of course, is that he is owed $27 million on the final year of his deal in 2023.

For Donaldson, he is not playing for the money anymore. He truly feels that he can contribute to this Yankees team.

“I’m not trying to walk away right now,” Donaldson said. “I hold myself to a high standard. I don’t need to play the game for financial reasons anymore.

“I play the game because I love to compete and I love the camaraderie. I feel like I have something to offer this game. And I have some incentive to bounce back after last year. I feel like I have something to prove to myself. And I feel like I can.”

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