Arizona Diamondbacks sign two-year deal with John McDonald – MLB Update
The Arizona Diamondbacks made their first trade in the offseason when they reached a two-year three-million-dollar agreement with Toronto Blue Jays’ John McDonald, who was uncertain of his future with the Canadian franchise.
The offer was accepted in spirit by McDonald, who played 18 games for the Diamondbacks in this past season and averaged a mere .169 as compared to his .260 batting average with the Blue Jays in 168 at-bats. However, he is more of a utility player and has
much more to offer than just offence. The Diamondbacks now have a player who can contribute to the team talk and assist the defence as well.
Jays’ general manager, Alex Anthopoulos, asserted that this is an excellent opportunity for McDonald to resurface in the Majors and that the D-backs will benefit a lot by his experience. Alex continued that the Blue Jays were not in a position to make a
bid for McDonald and thus did not react to the offer.
After a few months of uncertainty, with a contract in hand, McDonald now feels that he is a proper Major Leaguer. “I was really surprised to get a two-year deal,” McDonald said in a telephone interview. “I’m happy I made a good enough impression on Arizona
after I got there … it was an offer at this point that I really couldn’t turn down.”
After being acquired by Arizona during midseason, it was anticipated by many that McDonald might return to Toronto in the offseason. Nevertheless, the two-year deal has practically ruled out this possibility and McDonald will now play for Arizona for the
next two seasons, at least.
Before finalising the deal, McDonald and Alex talked out of courtesy to finish their professional relation on a positive note. The player stressed that it was a difficult conversation because of the respect he has for his ex-manager. McDonald was not disappointed
by the fact that Anthopoulos did not bid for him and that he is aware that Alex is still struggling to put the ballclub together.
The Diamondbacks qualified for the postseason ahead of the reigning World Champions San Francisco Giants, but it will be interesting to see if they are able to replicate this performance in 2012.
Tags: