Yankees' Donaldson undecided about MLB future after this season

Josh Donaldson, the former third baseman and AL MVP winner with the Toronto Blue Jays, told The Athletic's Brendan Kuty he 'doesn't know' if his career will continue beyond the end of the 2023 season. 

Donaldson, 37, has struggled mightily at the plate in 2023 with the New York Yankees. He missed over a month and a half with a calf injury suffered in spring training, and has hit just .151 with six home runs in the 17 games he has played.

“I’ve hit a lot of balls hard,” said Donaldson. “Unfortunately, some of them haven’t fallen at the moment."

Donaldson won the AL MVP award with the Blue Jays in the 2015 season, when he hit .297 with 41 HR. He led the league in runs scored (122) and runs batted in (123) that season. 

The Blue Jays acquired him from the Oakland Athletics after the 2014 campaign, in exchange for Canadian third baseman Brett Lawrie, infielder Franklin Barreto and pitchers Kendall Graveman and Sean Nolin.

Donaldson earned MVP votes in his first three seasons with Toronto, but injuries slowed him in 2018 and he was traded before the end of the season to the Cleveland Indians. 

In his five seasons since leaving Toronto, Donaldson has largely struggled to replicate his success early in his career. In 312 games over the last four years with the Minnesota Twins and Yankees, Donaldson has hit just .229 with 53 home runs in 1069 at bats. 

"I don't know [if I'd like to play another year]," said Donaldson. "It kind of just depends on how I feel going through this year and this season and ... talking to my family."

This is the final year of a four-year, $92 million deal Donaldson signed with the Twins before the 2020 season. 

Over his 13-year MLB career, the three-time All-Star has hit .263 with 272 HR, 807 runs scored and 798 RBI. He is one of only two Blue Jays to earn the AL MVP award in franchise history - outfielder George Bell was the first, in 1987.