20 Josh Donaldson 3B

The Braves are anticipating Donaldson hitting second in the order during the 2019 season, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Per O'Brien, Ronald Acuna will sit atop the order or man the cleanup spot while Freddie Freeman hits third. Ozzie Albies and Ender Inciarte are also under consideration to bat leadoff. Prior to Donaldson's injury-plagued 2018 campaign, he slashed .270/.385/.559 with 33 home runs and 78 RBI in 2017. The Braves are obviously betting on Donaldson staying healthy and returning to that form after signing him to a one-year, $23 million deal. Donaldson is in line to be the club's everyday third baseman while Johan Camargo takes on a utility role to begin the year.

Donaldson signed a one-year, $23 million contract with the Braves on Monday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Donaldson will immediately slot in as the team's everyday third baseman, likely pushing Johan Camargo to a utility role. Injuries limited the 32-year-old to just 52 games in 2018, prompting him to sign a one-year deal in an attempt to re-establish his value. When healthy, Donaldson has proven to be one of the premier options at the hot corner over the past five seasons, slashing .275/.373/.524 with 148 homers and 421 RBI over that stretch (636 games).

Donaldson went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, four RBI and two runs in Friday's 14-6 victory over the Royals.

Donaldson blew the game open with a grand slam in the seventh inning to stretch the Indians' lead to 10-0. He also added a double and a run earlier in the frame, as the Indians scored 10 of their 14 runs in the seventh. Donaldson now has a .249 batting average to go along with eight home runs and 23 RBI over 212 plate appearances in 2018.

Donaldson is not in the lineup Monday against the White Sox, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Donaldson has hit just .219 in 10 games since joining Cleveland, though he has a pair of homers and a respectable enough .712 OPS. Yandy Diaz will start at third base Monday.

Donaldson went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Friday's loss to the Red Sox.

Donaldson went deep off Chris Sale in the fourth inning for his seventh home run of the year. In eight games now for his new ball club Donaldson is hitting .217 with two solo home runs and three runs scored in 23 at-bats. Overall the 32-year-old is hitting .231/.333/.431 with 11 doubles, 18 RBI and 25 runs in 44 games this year.