Today marks the 5th anniversary of the big trade between the Blue Jays and Oakland A’s that brought a future AL MVP to Toronto. The Blue Jays acquired Donaldson in exchange for four players, including Brett Lawrie, Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin, and Franklin Barreto.
The trade was a bit of a shock at the time, mostly because Donaldson still had four years of club control remaining and had received MVP votes in 2013 and 2014 while in Oakland. He was a late-bloomer of sorts, but it was clear that he was a star, and one that took another step after arriving in Toronto.