Los Angeles Dodgers: Why Josh Donaldson would be a great signing

1. Josh Donaldson’s production is exactly what the team needs

Did Josh Donaldson have as good of a season last season as Anthony Rendon did? No. Will Rendon be the better player overall in the next five years? Probably. However, that does not make Donaldson’s production a bad thing, in fact, his production is exactly what the Dodgers need.

Just by his numbers from last season we know that Donaldson is a power-hitting bat, which fits perfectly into the culture that the Dodgers and most big-league clubs have created: elevate the baseball and get it out of the yard.

Traditional baseball fans might worry about that batting average, especially when the home runs are harder to come by in October, but it is also important to note what side of the plate that Donaldson hits on.

The Dodgers really need a power-hitting right-handed bat to sandwich right in the middle of the order behind Cody Bellinger. Right now, the team’s two best right-handed hitters are Justin Turner and A.J. Pollock.

The one worry is that Donaldson was a reverse-split guy, hitting just .215 last season against southpaws. However, in his entire career, he has hit southpaws better (.277), so last season could have just been an outlier, similar to how Pollock hit southpaws worse in 2018 and then was back on track in 2019.

Personally, I am someone that was against the idea of bringing in an infielder as the infield is already full but Donaldson’s bat is the reason for the addition, not the fielding, and with so much positional flexibility the Dodgers can figure it out.

Whether it is staggering off days between the five infielders where everyone gets ample playing time and days off or moving someone, such as Gavin Lux, to the outfield, which is in play as Dave Roberts said that Lux was in the outfield mix.

The Dodgers will figure it out because the bat it what the team is targeting, not the position.