“The start of Spring Training usually isn’t this hot,” Josh Donaldson says as he finishes an early morning round of hitting at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, on the day of the Yankees’ first Grapefruit League game.

The newly acquired third baseman is certainly right about the mid-80s temperatures in Florida, but the atmosphere is filled with different types of heat. There is excitement surrounding the team in the wake of the abrupt start to spring, following winter headlines of labor issues. Once a Collective Bargaining Agreement was reached, it seemed the temperature rose literally and figuratively.

Late on Sunday evening, March 13, the Yankees finalized a blockbuster trade with Minnesota that brought Donaldson, a three-time All-Star, to the Yankees along with shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa -- who won the AL Gold Glove Award at third base in 2020 -- and Ben Rortvedt, an up-and-coming catcher, in exchange for Gary Sánchez and Gio Urshela, two players with significant tenures in the Big Apple.

Less than 24 hours later, Donaldson was in Tampa at the Yankees’ facility, meeting teammates, learning the lay of the land and quickly ramping up for the start of the regular season on April 7. By the end of the week, Donaldson is finally able to catch his breath -- literally. Along with several of the club’s other stars, he wasn’t on the team’s traveling squad for the first game, a Friday matinee against the Pirates in Bradenton. When the cavalcade of players and coaches, staff and most of the members of the media who cover the team pulls out of the Steinbrenner Field parking lots, the facility gets a lot quieter.

Wearing a warm-up jersey and pinstriped baseball pants and still perspiring from his first workout of the day, Donaldson sits down at his locker along the back wall of the expansive clubhouse, takes off his spikes and audibly exhales.

“Honestly, it was something that I didn’t see coming,” the 2015 American League MVP says of the trade. “As far as coming to this organization, I was in a whirlwind for the first three or four days, but now, every day that I’m here is more enjoyable than the last. I’m getting to know everyone, and, as far as the staff, I’m learning what each person brings to the table. I think that being here is going to be beneficial for me. I’m really excited about where the journey has taken me.”

For Donaldson, that journey comprises an 11-season Major League career that began in 2010 with Oakland and has included a cross-country journey of late. Counting the Yankees, the 36-year-old has played for five teams in the last five seasons; even though he has lived it himself, Donaldson can’t immediately keep track of all the uniform changes.

“Really, five teams in five years?” he asks when the subject is raised. “Toronto in 2018, Cleveland in the second half of 2018, Atlanta in 2019, Minnesota the last two years and now New York. Yeah, you’re right.”

Especially at the end of his first week with a new team, Donaldson is keenly aware of the challenges that come with changing uniforms. With a young daughter at home, there’s more that needs to be done than just learning the names of his new teammates and figuring out where to find dry socks for the day’s next workout.

“A big part of it is just getting acclimated to the environment of the new city, for me and for my family,” he says. “Obviously, going to New York City, there are going to be some unique adjustments. That’s understandable; it’s one of the biggest cities in the world. But as a baseball player, the clubhouse is our environment for the most part. So, for me, getting familiar with the people in this clubhouse, getting to know people, that’s the first thing any new player has to do. Luckily, that’s one thing, for whatever reason, that I’m pretty comfortable doing.”

That adaptability probably has something to do with his experience in being the new guy. Although it wasn’t always seamless, all of the trades and the adjustments have made the logistics surrounding this move much less painstaking for Donaldson.

“It has gotten easier,” he says. “You learn what you can do better. That’s the main thing. Getting a feel for something as simple as approaching new teammates, that’s something that you have to do well. Also, at this point in my career, I’ve played against most of the guys here for a long time, so they already know me. When I was younger, most of the players in the league didn’t know who I was. They didn’t know what to expect of me. The more I’ve been around, the easier it is.”

Another reason why this move has gone relatively seamlessly for Donaldson is that he embraces the opportunity to play for a team he has always admired, and he looks forward to taking the field in front of a fan base that he respects.

“I feel like Yankees fans are the definition of what fan is short for -- fanatic,” Donaldson says. “They are all in, all the time. There are going to be good times and bad times in terms of how we’re performing on the field, and they feel that more than most fans. That’s a good thing; it means that they are passionate. They are going to find out that I’m passionate about what I do. I’m passionate about this game. I don’t think there are too many people who care more about what we are doing as a team than me.”

Like most superstars who visit Yankee Stadium, Donaldson has received his fair share of Bronx cheers, especially last season, when he publicly called out New York’s ace, Gerrit Cole. But, despite all of that, Donaldson can’t wait to take the field in his new home ballpark.

“I’m familiar with what it’s like to play at Yankee Stadium,” Donaldson says. “Now, when I do something good, it will be nice to have the fans cheer for me rather than call me a bum. But I enjoyed the interaction with the fans at Yankee Stadium when I was an opposing player. Even though they were passionate about rooting against me, it didn’t bother me at all.”

Donaldson feels that the pinstripes suit him. More than that, he hopes to live up to the legacies set by those who preceded him, including one Yankees legend whose blue eyes and muscular physique are similar to those of the team’s newest power hitter.

“I’m a huge fan of Mickey Mantle,” says Donaldson, who has swatted 251 big-league home runs heading into the 2022 season. “I wish I could have watched him play, but now, getting to wear the pinstripes, the same uniform that he wore, that’s pretty special.

“The aura he had, just the presence he still has when people talk about him, that’s why I’m in awe of him. The athletic ability that he had is a big part of it. He was a switch-hitter; he hit for power and average, and he was fast. He had all of the tools. When you watch highlights of Mickey Mantle, you realize that he was a magical player.”

While Donaldson’s list of accomplishments is impressive, he has yet to reach his ultimate goal -- winning a championship. Not unlike other players who have come to the Yankees in recent decades, the opportunity to win it all was one of the first things that Donaldson thought about when the trade went down.

“We are going to win a lot of games, and I feel great about going into the season with these guys. You don’t always feel that way a few weeks before Opening Day, but I definitely do right now. There is a lot of talent in this clubhouse, and we have a great coaching staff.”

He’s also encouraged by what he has observed in the Bronx during the last few seasons.

“I definitely think from being an opponent of these guys for so many years that this group was really knocking the doors down from the time they all broke into the league,” he says. “There are adjustments that players and even teams have to make along the way to get over the hump. You could see over the years that teams were making adjustments against the Yankees, and that the guys in this clubhouse were making counter-adjustments. But I think where the guys on this team are now is a good place. There are a lot of guys on this roster who have really figured out how to go about their business and prepare for each game. They are in position to build off what they have done the last few seasons. The nucleus of this team is confident that they can win a championship, and that’s a nice place to be. Hopefully, I can learn from them, and they can learn from me.”

When Donaldson highlights the team’s greatest assets, he obviously includes Cole. Far from concerned about any lingering issues from last year’s drama -- including the ferocious staredowns Cole gave Donaldson after two June strikeouts -- the Alabama product is excited to share a clubhouse with a bona fide ace.

“With Gerrit, he’s been one of, if not the, best pitcher in the game for a while,” says Donaldson, who met with Cole on his first day in camp and told reporters that the two had a “good conversation” and cleared the air. “To have that horse who, when he’s on the mound, makes it so you expect to win, that’s a really good thing. It’s especially nice when the postseason starts. That’s something I miss about old-school baseball; you used to have those No. 1 starters going against each other. You used to have Roger Clemens going up against Pedro Martínez. You used to have Andy Pettitte going at it with John Smoltz or Greg Maddux. Baseball has lost that a little bit, but at the same time, we have that in Gerrit.”

Combine that bulldog ace with an offense that includes fellow sluggers Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo -- all of whom have hit at least 25 home runs on multiple occasions -- and you can understand why Donaldson feels so excited about what his new team can do.

“The best lineups I’ve been part of are the ones that, one through nine, have guys who have the ability to take something out of the pitcher,” Donaldson says. “They are going to take a piece of the pitcher with them. Regardless of what I do at the plate, I want the pitcher to be like, ‘Thank God that at-bat is done.’ The problem that pitchers will have with our lineup is that we have so many guys who will make pitchers feel like that. If an opposing pitcher loses focus for a split second, we’re going to put a bunch of runs on the board.”

So, for a fan base craving a championship, what can New York expect from Josh Donaldson? Well, for years now, he has been one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball, including in his MVP campaign in 2015, when he was in Toronto. That season, he hit 41 home runs and led the AL with 123 RBIs and the Majors with 122 runs. The following two seasons, he hit 37 and 33 home runs, respectively.

Donaldson missed significant time in 2018 and was traded to Cleveland at the Aug. 31 deadline. But he certainly rebounded. Not only did he hit 37 home runs and drive in 94 runs with Atlanta the following season, but he was also productive during his time in Minnesota. Last year, he hit 26 homers in 135 games for a Twins team that won just 73 games, finishing last in the AL Central.

“I felt pretty good about last season overall,” says Donaldson, who owns a career .269 average. “From an analytic standpoint, my hard-hit percentage, my exit velocity, average exit velocity and walk rate were all pretty good in comparison to what they were in other years for me. I would have liked to have put the ball in play more consistently, but that’s something that I’m working to improve on this spring and this season.”

It’s no secret that players are widely judged on the numbers they put up, and Donaldson acknowledges that a big year statistically will not only help his team get into the postseason but will also ingratiate him with the Yankees organization and the fan base. But Donaldson uses a different metric to measure his performance.

“I don’t really put numbers with success,” he says. “In my opinion, that takes away from the process. As a player, I take the field every night asking myself, ‘Can I impact the game one time to help our team win?’ Once I’ve done that, I start thinking, ‘Can I impact the game two times to help our team win?’ I’m focused on what can I do, whether it’s on the offensive side or the defensive side or even on the basepaths, to help impact the game. Maybe it comes down to a conversation with a teammate that helps him get a hit because of something that I noticed. If I help a guy who then helps us win the game, that means I had a positive impact on the game that night. It’s really a day-by-day approach, and if I impact games throughout the year, my numbers will take care of themselves.”

Even when discussing the accomplishment of winning an MVP Award, Donaldson continues to use the same measurement, while also shedding light on the type of teammate he has been.

“I look at that award as something that is given to the guy who helps his team win more than anyone else in the league,” Donaldson says. “That’s how I express value as a player; how much I can help our team win. I felt like over the course of that year, I did a great job of that. That was a special season, not just for me, but for my teammates and for the Blue Jays fans. To be able to win an MVP, and have that type of success, it really wasn’t just about me. I had something to do with it, but my teammates did a great job as well. I think that most guys who have ever won an MVP have had teammates who also played really well.”

The Yankees’ roster is loaded with valuable players, but Donaldson joins Stanton as the only two guys in pinstripes this year to have won the actual award. “The Bringer of Rain” -- a nickname inspired by the TV series Spartacus: Blood and Sand -- expects to enjoy some legendary moments, especially in the Bronx. But as his first week in pinstripes nears its end on a quiet day in Tampa, Donaldson takes another deep breath and focuses on where he is in his baseball journey -- and what he hopes to accomplish before it reaches the end of the road.

“When you have a chance to be part of an organization that can win a World Series, you have to realize how lucky you are,” he says. “The history that is here, the history of people who have won the World Series for this team, includes a lot of guys. The Yankees have had a lot of success, and the organization and the fan base is partial to the guys who have helped them win over the years. There are a lot of champions who wore pinstripes, and it means a lot to win here, simply because of how passionate the fan base is.

“My goal has been the same for as long as I’ve been playing. For me, the goal is to win the World Series. I’ve had some success in the postseason, but winning a championship is one thing I haven’t been able to do. My ultimate focus is on helping this team win it all.”