Donaldson calls for Stroman to play 3rd base after pinch-hit double

Even the Bringer of Rain himself knows when it's time to move over.

Josh Donaldson's calf injury has left the already struggling Toronto Blue Jays with a massive hole at third base, and they've had a lot of trouble finding a fill-in. A platoon of Darwin Barney and outfielder/sliding wizard Chris Coghlan - the latter of which entered 2017 with just 29 appearances at third - have mostly held things down, though manager John Gibbons went nice and weird on Tuesday night by giving catcher Russell Martin the surprise start at the hot corner, his first at the position since 2013.

If Donaldson has any sway, though, perhaps the Blue Jays will look at a new, even stranger third-base option going forward. Donaldson was watching from afar as his teammate, pitcher Marcus Stroman, recorded a surprising pinch-hit double in the 11th inning - his first career hit, and the first pinch-hit double by an American League pitcher since 1971 - that led to the game-winning run in a wild 6-5 Toronto win on Tuesday night.

Stroman's skills with the bat left the 2015 AL MVP suitably impressed, to the point that Donaldson began openly campaigning for the diminutive right-hander to take over for him.

All kidding aside, playing the infield would be nothing new for Stroman. The 25-year-old actually began his NCAA career at Duke as both a pitcher and second baseman; he made 44 appearances in the field as a freshman when not pitching, and another 30 in his sophomore season before moving to the mound for good. Stroman hit .252/.324/.362 with 25 extra-base hits and 35 RBIs in 301 at-bats during his three years with the Blue Devils.

Still, it's highly unlikely that Stroman will see at-bats outside of interleague play or a dire emergency, so the Barney-Coghlan platoon will have to suffice until Donaldson's healthy.