“JD is in a badddd place.”
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve texted, Slack’d, or posted the above sentence in the past couple weeks. No, it’s not me remarking on my own mental health — although, sheesh — but rather Josh Donaldson, who’s triple slashed .222/.313/.373 in 2022, after coming over from the Twins in a deal that I thought the Yankees would come out ahead in.
Since returning from the IL June 3rd, that slash line has only gotten worse, a paltry .200/.262/.316, a team-worst .578 OPS in that stretch. His batted ball data has taken a pretty significant step backward, going from the 90th percentile in hard hit rate, exit velo, barrel rate and walk rate down to the mid-70s percentile .