It began with a bang, and had loads of ups (and fairly just a few downs), however the Gary Sanchez 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 Sanchez and infielder Gio Urshela to Minnesota for third baseman Josh Donaldson, shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa and catcher Ben Rortvedt.
With Sanchez, 29, the promise of his early time in pinstripes had grow to be 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 group, however has hit simply .201 during the last 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 aspect of the Yankees’ infield, with Donaldson, the winner of the 2015 American League Most Invaluable Participant Award, taking on at third and Kiner-Falefa, a defensive ace, taking on at shortstop.
Donaldson, 36, has slowed down some defensively over the previous couple of years, however he had a stable season offensively in 2021, batting .247 with a .352 on-base share and 26 house runs. Kiner-Falefa, who turns 27 later this month, is a dramatic improve on protection over the Yankees’ different choices, and he has frolicked at catcher, second base, shortstop and third base in his profession. He has only a .316 profession on-base share, however he makes stable contact and has the pace 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 decide in 2016.
Whereas Kiner-Falefa and Rortvedt are low-cost choices, Donaldson is owed greater than $43.5 million over the following two seasons and has a $16 million group choice 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 house runs over three seasons whereas offering at occasions spectacular protection at third base.
