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Amid free-agent flurry, Donaldson spends Tuesday dishing on Twitter

Among Donaldson's more interesting musings: A collection of tweets indicating that the star third baseman knows exactly what Oakland's ownership is up to with regard to spending money. Or not spending money.

By LF94
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday was a big day for the A's organization as a whole, mainly thanks to the signing of form Royals slugger Billy Butler to a three-year, $30 million contract.

But for the rest of the Athletics, Tuesday was just another day in the still-young offseason, and Josh Donaldson spent it sharing some thoughts on Twitter, at least one of which was too interesting to ignore.

But first, the fact that Donaldson is just as eager as the rest of us to see how the offseason plays out:

And, of course, Oakland's All-Star third baseman taking an opportunity to let a fan know that he and Sonny Gray don't look particularly old:

But here's the real show:

Donaldson essentially told the entire Internet that Oakland's ownership dupes the fanbase into believing it's poor, refusing to shell out for a big market-style payroll and roster while they reap massive profits, which they in turn pocket. Donaldson may well have hit the nail on the head about Lew Wolff and John Fisher, but it's interesting and even a tad concerning that players are a) not content with the way the ball club is run and b) willing to share those opinions with whomever might be interested in reading them.

In Donaldson's view (again, he may well be spot-on), the Oakland Coliseum's decrepit conditions and infrastructure are no indicator of the ownership's ability to shell out when the need is there:

Donaldson went on to indirectly address the prospect of him leaving for greener pastures and greener paychecks the moment his contract affords him the opportunity, in the context of the blockbuster deal Giancarlo Stanton just signed with the Miami Marlins, first saying "Trust me, I know," and following it up with this:

Donaldson isn't getting in trouble for this, and he didn't say anything remotely off-base or unwarranted. But it's an interesting topic to keep an eye on. This is 2014, and players don't even have to leave their living rooms to express opinions about anything they like, including their own club's primary financial stakeholders.

In a well run organization, players wouldn't have major issues with the ownership. That's not to say that the A's aren't well run; there are many deep-seated issues that the ownership and front office simply have no control over. But the fact remains that Donaldson is (at the very least) skeptical of the team's financial model, and his willingness to broadcast his thoughts is another interesting read into the psyche of athletes who, like it or not, play for the Oakland Athletics.

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