Yankees Remake Infield by Trading Gary Sánchez

It began with a bang, and had loads of ups (and fairly just a few downs), however the Gary Sánchez period in New York ended on Sunday when the Yankees traded the two-time All-Star catcher to the Minnesota Twins.

Within the deal, introduced by each groups, the Yankees despatched Sánchez and infielder Gio Urshela to Minnesota for third baseman Josh Donaldson, shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa and catcher Ben Rortvedt.

With Sánchez, 29, the promise of his early time in pinstripes had change into considerably of a distant reminiscence. He hit .283 with a .353 on-base share and 53 homers in his first 177 video games with the workforce, however has hit simply .201 over the past 4 seasons, bottoming out with a .147 common within the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He additionally struggled with handed balls behind the plate for a lot of his profession.

The deal dramatically remakes the left facet of the Yankees’ infield, with Donaldson, the winner of the 2015 American League Most Precious Participant Award, taking up at third and Kiner-Falefa, a defensive ace, taking up at shortstop.

Donaldson, 36, has slowed down some defensively over the previous few years, however he had a strong season offensively in 2021, batting .247 with a .352 on-base share and 26 dwelling runs. Kiner-Falefa, who turns 27 later this month, is a dramatic improve on protection over the Yankees’ different choices, and he has hung out at catcher, second base, shortstop and third base in his profession. He has only a .316 profession on-base share, however he makes strong contact and has the velocity to steal bases.

Rortvedt, 24, was referred to as up for the primary time in 2021 and struggled on the plate. He’s a .241 profession hitter within the minors and was a second-round draft choose in 2016.

Whereas Kiner-Falefa and Rortvedt are low-cost choices, Donaldson is owed $43.5 million over the subsequent two seasons and has a $16 million workforce possibility in 2024 with an $8 million buyout. He additionally has some historical past with Gerrit Cole after he accused the Yankees ace of getting doctored baseballs to spice up his efficiency.

Urshela, 30, exceeded all expectations in New York, batting .292 with 41 dwelling runs over three seasons whereas offering at instances spectacular protection at third base.