TAMPA — Josh Donaldson is ready to let his play do the talking.
Coming off his worst offensive season since he established himself in the big leagues, Donaldson went to work in the offseason to try to put himself in a better position to have a more productive season at the plate this year.
Though the 37-year-old third baseman was not overly interested in making any proclamations about 2023, his manager did it for him.
“I think you’re crazy to think that a bounce-back is not in there offensively,” Aaron Boone said Tuesday after a workout at Steinbrenner Field. “This guy still has bat speed and, again, is super talented. Physically, at this point, [he’s] in a much better place than he was a year ago right now.”
Boone said Donaldson came into 2022 “a little behind the eight-ball” because of the lockout delaying spring training and then only having about four weeks to prepare for the regular season.
The result was Donaldson hitting just .222 with 15 home runs and a .682 OPS — his worst numbers since 2012, his second year in the big leagues — and never providing the consistent offense the Yankees expected from him when they acquired him from the Twins at the start of spring training. He provided strong defense at third base, with Boone believing he should have been a Gold Glove finalist, but his bat was not at the same level.
“Obviously, I enjoy hitting,” Donaldson said. “I’ve put a lot of time and energy into that, so it definitely was frustrating going through that last year. But at the end of the year, I tried to make an honest assessment of where I was at. Put my big-boy pants on and get ready to work.”
Donaldson also struggled in the postseason — though he wasn’t alone — when he was 5-for-29 with one extra-base hit and 16 strikeouts, which made him the target of growing boos from the Yankee Stadium crowd.
With $27 million left on Donaldson’s contract, the Yankees were unable to find a taker for him this offseason. Instead of wondering whether he might be traded for the second straight year, though, Donaldson went to work to try to prove that he still has more left in the tank offensively.
“I definitely was motivated going into the offseason to put a lot of time and energy into what I’m doing,” he said. “[But] it doesn’t matter how much work I put in, you still gotta go out there and do it.”
Still, Boone insisted that the early signs in spring training are positive.
“Physically, he looks great,” Boone said. “His assessments, everything, he’s moving really well.”
Boone also pointed to Donaldson being “not far removed from 2021, where he was still a wrecking ball.” That year with the Twins, Donaldson hit .247 with 26 home runs and a .827 OPS in 135 games. He is further removed from his MVP season in 2015, which was the second of three straight All-Star campaigns, but the Yankees would certainly take the 2021 version this year.
If not, it remains to be seen how long of a leash Donaldson might get at third base. The Yankees currently have a crowded infield group, with the likes of DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera both capable of sliding over to the hot corner.
But Donaldson sounded intent on making sure he did his part this winter to give himself a chance for a bounce-back season.
“There was a multitude of things offensively last year, but at the end of the day, it didn’t work out,” Donaldson said. “I’ve tried to learn from that season and try to be a better version of myself this year.”