The Milwaukee Brewers have purchased the contract of veteran third baseman Josh Donaldson, the team announced on Monday afternoon. The Brewers also optioned utility player Owen Miller to Triple-A Nashville and transferred right-hander J.C. Mejía to the 60-day injured list (shoulder inflammation).
Donaldson, 37, signed a minor-league pact with the Brewers in late August after being released by the New York Yankees. In 33 big-league games this season, he hit .142/.225/.434 (75 OPS+) with 10 home runs and 15 RBI. Despite an average exit velocity north of 92 mph, Donaldson mustered an impossibly poor batting average on balls in play of just .076.
The Brewers are clearly hoping that Donaldson has more hits in his bat down the stretch for them than he had with the Yankees. That's to be seen. In five minor-league games with the Brewers organization at the Triple-A level, he's batted .177/.364/.529 with two home runs in 22 trips to the plate.
Donaldson figures to cut into rookie third baseman Andruw Monasterio's playing time. At minimum, he could see action at DH against left-handed pitchers.
The Brewers entered Monday with a three-game lead in the National League Central over the Chicago Cubs. If the Brewers were to hold onto a playoff spot, and Donaldson's performance were to merit it, he could find himself included on their postseason roster.
Technically, the Brewers would have to petition the league to allow Donaldson to take the place of an injured player. This is a commonplace occurrence, however, and he should be cleared based on the fact that he was a member of the organization ahead of the Aug. 31 deadline.
The Brewers will represent Donaldson's seventh big-league club. In addition to the Yankees, he's also spent time with the Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, now-Cleveland Guardians, Atlanta Braves, and Minnesota Twins.
