CLEVELAND _ The Indians made a move at the 11th hour with the hope of shaking up the American League playoff picture. Now, the road begins to seeing if that vision will materialize.
The Indians' deal to bring in former MVP Josh Donaldson potentially added one of the best hitters in the game to the heart of the lineup. Donaldson at his peak levels joining Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Michael Brantley and Edwin Encarnacion makes for one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball.
The question, as it pertains to Donaldson, is and will continue to be with his health. He's had nearly a lost 2018 season while dealing with an ongoing calf injury and hasn't played in a major league game since late May. He's currently on the Indians active roster, but that's because rosters expanded to 40 players Saturday.
Donaldson's flight was delayed on Saturday, and that situation was further complicated by the Cleveland National Air Show. He didn't arrive in Cleveland until later Saturday night. So the Indians have been delayed in their ability to map out a plan of attack as to the best way for Donaldson to log playing time to round back into form.
On Sunday, Donaldson worked out in front of the club's medical staff and manager Terry Francona and then took batting practice with president of baseball Chris Antonetti nearby. There hasn't been an update provided in terms of how Donaldson will log at-bats in the near future, but he said he's confident in his current position.
"I feel very good about where I'm at right now. I'd rather not talk about it, I'd rather just you be able to see it and you could judge it yourself," Donaldson said. "I'm excited because my body is coming to the point now where I feel very much comfortable in going out there and playing. Not only playing at an ordinary level, but as a very high level as well."
The month of September for the Indians is all about how well Donaldson and some other players are able to position themselves in terms of readiness for the postseason. Donaldson has roughly a month to garner as much playing time as he needs to return to being among the game's most feared hitters for the last several seasons.
"(I'm) really excited about the potential impact Josh might have on our team," Antonetti said. "We went into it knowing that there's a lot of risk and the fact that he hadn't played for a while. Exactly when he'd be healthy and ready to go and play regularly is still a little uncertain. And the level of performance when he returns after missing so much time is hard to predict.
"The one thing we're confident, when Josh is healthy and in a good spot, he's a really productive player on both sides of the ball. We were willing to take the risk. We're going to end up giving up a good player to get him."
Donaldson and new/old teammate Encarnacion were part of a lethal lineup with the Toronto Blue Jays over the last five or six seasons. He now has a month to prepare for a playoff push in Cleveland, and his frustration-laden season spent mostly off major league fields wasn't what he had in mind in March.
"If I was writing a book, it's not how I would've wanted it to go," Donaldson said. "But hopefully it has a happy ending."
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