Blue Jays trade 3B Josh Donaldson to Indians

The Toronto Blue Jays on Friday traded third baseman Josh Donaldson to the Cleveland Indians, who are hoping the 2015 American League MVP can bolster their lineup and help them get back to the World Series.

The Blue Jays will receive a player to be named later. 

Donaldson, 32, 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 are satisfied he's worth taking on for the season's final month and then into October.

Cleveland, which leads the AL Central by 14 games, begins 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, 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.

In Cleveland, the right-handed hitting Donaldson will be reunited with Indians slugger Edwin Encarnacion, his former teammate in Toronto.

"He's great player, man,'' Encarnacion said after the Indians beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-0 and before the trade was official. "If it happens, everybody is gonna be excited here. He's a great guy.''

It's not clear if Donaldson will join the Indians right away or continue to rehab in the minors. Also, the Indians have a tough decision to make as to where to play him. Cleveland manager Terry Francona does not want to move All-Star Jose Ramirez from third to second base this late in the season.

But if Donaldson can play every day, the Indians will switch Ramirez back to second for the second year in a row. Last season, they moved second baseman Jason Kipnis to center field for the last month and playoffs.

Donaldson 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 and The Associated Press contributed to this report.