Report: Billy Beane and Josh Donaldson were 'at war'

The Oakland A’s decision to trade Josh Donaldson this offseason came as a shocker, even by Billy Beane standards.

Donaldson has been the A’s best player and was an MVP candidate the past two years. Why would the team be motivated to deal him?

Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller says that a personal issue between Beane and Donaldson may have been the catalyst for a trade.

Here’s what Miller reported in his latest column:

One industry source says he “knew” the Athletics would trade Josh Donaldson this winter, no matter how little baseball sense it made, because the All-Star and Beane were “at war” by season’s end.

Multiple sources cite a verbal altercation between the two after Donaldson told manager Bob Melvin he needed a couple of days off after Oakland had played several days in a row. The story goes, Beane told Donaldson if he needed a couple of days off, the club should put him on the disabled list, and that made Donaldson unhappy.

According to Miller’s story, Melvin was going to grant Donaldson the day off per the player’s request. Beane supposedly flipped out when he saw that night’s lineup card and learned his star third baseman would not be playing. The GM reportedly demanded Melvin play Donaldson.

More from Miller:

“They got into it in the coach’s office,” the source says, describing a scene in which Beane lit into Donaldson, with the third baseman reiterating his need for a day off and petulantly calling Beane “Billy Boy.”

“Nobody talks to Billy that way,” the source said. “It did not surprise me in the least that he got rid of Donaldson.”

Does this explain Beane’s trade? It could have something to do with it. But if you’re not into conspiracy theories, you can argue that Beane felt they got everything possible out of Donaldson and traded him at his peak for the maximum possible return. They got Brett Lawrie, whom they may feel can improve, pitchers Kendall Graveman and Sean Nolin, and shortstop Franklin Barreto from Toronto in exchange for Donaldson. In this sense, the trade follows the same pattern Beane established when he dealt Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder at the top of their careers. And history has shown us A’s fans should trust in Beane.

We know one thing: anyone reading this report is probably recalling that scene in “Moneyball” where Beane lays into Jeremy Giambi and promptly trades the party animal.