ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 04: Josh Donaldson #20 of the Atlanta Braves reacts after an RBI single off Jack Flaherty #22 of the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning in game two of the National League Division Series at SunTrust Park on October 04, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

Atlanta Braves gain two awards finalists as the off-season cranks up

Atlanta Braves gain two awards finalists as the off-season cranks up by Alan Carpenter

The Atlanta Braves extended a qualifying offer to Josh Donaldson on Monday in what will be the first move in a battle for the free agent third baseman.

It was a no-brainer on Monday for the Atlanta Braves to give Josh Donaldson a qualifying offer that will likely be north of $18 million.

Some might not have thought that would be the case when Alex Anthopoulos signed the third baseman last offseason.

He was coming off a couple of injury-plagued seasons and many weren’t sure what we would get from him in 2019.

Well, what we got was a return to form for the former MVP as he hit 37 home runs, scored 96 runs, drove in 94 runs while playing in 155 games.

And on top of that, he was a finalist for the NL Gold Glove at third base.

Now the nine-year veteran who will play next season at age 33, he will be looking to cash in this offseason.

With the qualifying offer tag on him, any team other than the Atlanta Braves that signs him will have to forfeit a draft pick to Atlanta.

While I don’t think that will hold anyone back from signing Donaldson like what happened with Craig Kimbrel and Dallas Keuchel, it could hold some teams back from pursuing him.

And maybe, it helps in opening up the door for the Braves to resign him.

Either way, Donaldson is expected to have a pretty good market this offseason. But we might not see that market develop until after Anthony Rendon is signed.

Donaldson is likely the fallback plan for any team that misses out on Rendon this offseason.

It sounds like the Braves want Donaldson back, and based on Twitter it’s very apparent that the fans want him back.

This qualifying offer is just the first domino that had to fall as the bidding for Donaldson begins this offseason.