With the Major League Baseball team owners' lockout of the players having ended after 99 days, the Yankees made a trade. And I'm not sure if it was a good idea.
They sent catcher Gary Sánchez and 3rd baseman Gio Urshela to the Minnesota Twins. Sánchez consistently put up good power numbers, but while he was productive in 2016, '17 and '19, his overall hitting was terrible in 2018, '20 and '21. He was mercilessly booed by the Bronx faithful, and he'll be glad to get out of that. For those of us who still want him to do well, perhaps a change of scenery will do him some good.
For me, the problem is giving up Urshela. He gave the Yankees 3 good seasons. He may well be missed.
In return, the Yankees got 3rd baseman Josh Donaldson, shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa and catcher Ben Rortvedt. With Oakland, Toronto, Atlanta and Minnesota, Donaldson has been one of the best hitters in baseball since 2013. He had a 127 OPS+ last season. But he's 36 years old. He was an American League Most Valuable Player, but that was in 2015.
This looks like a classic Brian Cashman acquisition: A guy who would have been good to have a few years back, but not so much now. And before you tell me he was great last year, let me remind you of Chris Carter, who tied for the National League home run title with 41 in 2016, but had only 94 RBIs, and batted just .222, got signed by Cashman, played all of 62 games with the Yankees, batted .201, got released on July 10, 2017, and never played another major league game. He was just 30 years old.
And he was 6 years younger than Donaldson.
Also, Donaldson is a righthanded hitter, coming to Yankee Stadium. Cashman still hasn't figured out that Yankee Stadium is harder on righthanded hitters than it is on lefthanded ones.
Also, Donaldson was the player who blew the whistle on Gerrit Cole's use of "sticky substances." But Cole and Donaldson have met, and Cole says, "I'll be fine." Donaldson says, "I'm happy to be on the same team, and not have to strike out anymore." Manager Aaron Boone says, "It's buried, and a non-issue."
As for IKF -- I mean, let's get serious here, Yankee Fans aren't going to want to say that entire name -- he's from Honolulu, he turns 27 this month, and will play shortstop, as Cashman finally admits that Gleyber Torres belongs at 2nd base.
IKF never played for the Twins: They traded him to the Yankees just 1 day after acquiring him in a trade with the Texas Rangers. He won a Gold Glove in 2020, and stole 20 bases last season. But he is not a good hitter, having never topped 93 in OPS+ in his 4 major league season. And, given that 2020 was a COVID-shortened season, 2021 was his 1st-ever full season.
Rortvedt is not going to be the starting catcher. He has played a grand total of 39 games in the majors, all last season, and batted .169. For the moment, the starting catcher is Kyle Higashioka. Higgy, a good defensive catcher, with a 71 OPS+ last season. If he's your backup catcher, you're okay; if he's your starter, you're in deep trouble. By giving up Sánchez, as much trouble as he was having, the Yankees actually downgraded at the position.
And the Yankees could still use one more good starting pitcher, and Aroldis Chapman is still a shaky closer.
*
Days until