Blue Jays trade 3B Josh Donaldson to Indians, sources say

Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson has been traded to the Cleveland Indians after clearing waivers Friday, sources confirmed to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.

The trade was first reported by Yahoo! Sports. 

The 2015 American League MVP has battled shoulder and calf injuries this season and has not played for Toronto since May 28. In 36 games, he batted .234 with five home runs and 16 RBIs.

On Thursday, Donaldson homered in his first at-bat in the second game of his rehabilitation assignment for Class A Dunedin. He finished the night 1-for-3 after going 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI on Tuesday.

The Indians, who lead the AL Central by 14½ games, begin a four-game series in Toronto on Thursday. 

A three-time All-Star, Donaldson shut down contract talks with the Blue Jays in February, saying the sides did not see "eye to eye" on a long-term deal. He is set to become a free agent in the offseason.

Donaldson is the third former MVP to be traded within the past nine months and the second to be traded Friday in the last 24 hours, following Andrew McCutchen's move to the New York Yankees.

A player must be on a club by Aug. 31 to be eligible for the postseason.

The trade to Cleveland reunites Donaldson with former Blue Jays teammate Edwin Encarnacion.

Donaldson, 32, has a .327 career batting average against the AL Central, his highest batting average versus any division. The same goes for his 1.066 OPS.

He batted .270 with 33 home runs and 78 RBIs despite playing in just 113 games during an injury-shortened 2017 season. He has 116 homers in his four seasons with Toronto and helped the Blue Jays make back-to-back appearances in the AL Championship Series in 2015 and 2016, when they lost to the Indians. 

Donaldson spent the first four years of his career with the Oakland Athletics and is a lifetime .275 hitter.

ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.