The Oakland Athletics has traded Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays for four players, Brett Lawrie, Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin, and Franklin Barreto.
Donaldson told the San Francisco Chronicle that he was playing video games when his agent texted him about the trade.
"I'm so shocked," Donaldson told the newspaper. "I just got off the phone with Billy Beane, and I guess they got an offer that they couldn't resist. I'm definitely a little emotional about it. Oakland is my home. At the end of the day, it's a business, as much as it hurts emotionally. The guys in that clubhouse are my brothers."Beane considers both pitchers ready for the majors.
"They had been pretty persistent, and we were pretty adamant that wasn't something we were willing to talk about," Beane said of dealing Donaldson. "We wouldn't have done the deal unless it addressed now and the future, and they were able to do that. This deal in our minds addresses a little bit of everything. It got pretty serious the last 48 hours. They were reluctant to give up all four players, and we weren't going to do it without those four players in the deal."
Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos sweetened the deal, offering Lawrie as a replacement for Donaldson."I have a pretty good relationship with Billy," Anthopoulos said. "At some point, someone makes it really compelling."
Source: ESPN