Josh Donaldson Working His Way Back To The Bronx In Somerset
Bridgewater, New Jersey - On April 18, the Yankees sit atop the MLB leaderboard for players on the injured list with 12, but an important reinforcement could be inching closer to a return to help ease the bite from the injury bug. Josh Donaldson is hoping to be back in
Bridgewater, New Jersey - On April 18, the Yankees sit atop the MLB leaderboard for players on the injured list with 12, but an important reinforcement could be inching closer to a return to help ease the bite from the injury bug. Josh Donaldson is hoping to be back in the Bronx to rejoin the Yankees on Wednesday after the three-time MLB All-Star third baseman rehabbed with the Patriots in their 17-9 series opening victory over New Hampshire on Tuesday night at TD Bank Ballpark.
Josh Donaldson in the 🏡#RepBX | @BringerOfRain20 pic.twitter.com/7pC31tadht
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) April 18, 2023
“I don’t think the plan is to be here any longer than today,” Donaldson admitted during pregame media availability. “Today is just to kind of get the feel and if everything goes well, be in New York tomorrow.”
Donaldson added, “The goal is just to get some game-like scenarios to where hopefully I get a chance to run the bases a little bit,” said Donaldson. “I’ll get to play some defense for, I think, five or six innings today and just see how that goes.”
In his first game action since landing on the injured list on April 8 with a right hamstring strain, the 37-year-old Donaldson batted second in the Patriots lineup and went 1-for-3 with a soft infield single that was aided by a fumbled attempt at a barehanded play from Fisher Cats third baseman Orelvis Martinez. Donaldson was lifted for pinch-runner Delvin Perez after reaching base in the fifth as scheduled.
In his previous two trips to the plate, Donaldson saw three pitches in the first that resulted in a ground out to third base before grounding out to second base in the third inning on a first-pitch check-swing attempt. Donaldson did not really get to test his legs all that much, but appeared to run out of the batter’s box with a conservative approach.
The 2015 American League MVP exited the Bombers April 5 matchup against the Phillies after coming up lame while hustling down the first base line. Since then, he has been working rigorously to strengthen his hamstring to get back on the field as soon as possible. He had gone just 2-for-16 in his first five games before landing on the shelf.
‘I think we were being more precautionary than anything,” said Donaldson. “It was not something that was too serious. Just tried to get it knocked out of the way so that it is not something that I am dealing with the entire year. Day one we were able to kind start doing some stuff to activate my hamstring and get on the field with it in three or four days. Just doing some light movements and things of that nature and it responded well.”
Donaldson added, “I have been feeling really good for a while now; for the last four or five days. It is nice to be able to get out here and play some games.”
In his first season with the Yankees in 2022, Donaldson had the toughest year of his career with just 15 homers and 62 RBI and a career-worst .682 OPS. Donaldson says he has made adjustments over the winter and after a strong spring training period that saw him blast four homers and a .995 OPS, the timing could not have been any worse for a superstar player yearning for a bounce back campaign in a contract year.
“Obviously last year was a down year for me offensively,” Donaldson admitted. “I felt like through spring training, and I felt like even early on when I was there, I was getting really close to having a lot of success. I was a little bit bummed about that whenever the hammy got me a little bit. I felt like I was really starting to get into a rhythm of some things. Hopefully, I can kind of pick up where we left off there and I believe that anything is possible.”
Matt Kardos | SomersetPatriots.com Beat Writer
Matt Kardos has covered the Yankees minor league system for over a decade and will spend his 11th season on the beat covering the Patriots for SomersetPatriots.com. Throughout his career, Matt has contributed to MLB.com, YES Network and Pinstriped Prospects. When he’s not at the ballpark, Matt enjoys traveling with his wife Kimberly, watching Jets football and collecting sports cards.