The Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees have agreed to a major multiplayer trade involving two All-Stars. Both teams declared the deal official. Here:
Gemini get:
Yankees get:
This is big. Urshela was the Yankees’ starting third baseman for most of his last three seasons when he was healthy. Sanchez looked like a future superstar as a rookie in 2016 and was an All-Star in 2017 and then again in 2019, but didn’t become the monster many expected him to be.
The biggest name here is Donaldson. The three-time All-Star won the 2015 AL MVP and was twice in the top 5 in MVP voting. He hit .247/.352/.475 (127 OPS+) with 26 doubles, 26 homers, 72 RBIs, 73 runs and 3.2 VAR in 135 games for the Twins last season. He has been somewhat hampered by injuries over the past few years and will no longer be able to reach a high average, but he is still an impressive mid-range striker. He could have landed between Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, or right after both.
Donaldson still owes $50 million through 2023, and the Yankees are taking on all of that. Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
The inclusion of Keener-Falef likely means the Yankees are going to move Gleyber Torres back to second base where he should be and DJ LeMahier to first base, though there is room for the guys to move regularly thanks to Lamahier’s ability to handle multiple infields. Luke Voight is in the picture for first base and DH at bats, while Stanton obviously takes the DH spot most of the time.
The Yankees are still looking for a left first baseman. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reportsone could name Freddie Freeman (free agent), Anthony Rizzo (free agent) and Matt Olson (must be through a trade with the A’s).
Rortvedt, 24, hit .169/.229/.281 in 98 games for the Twins last season. It looks like he’s, at least for the moment, assigned as a reserve catcher for the Yankees. With the Sanchez trade, Kyle Higashioka becomes the starting catcher in the Bronx.
For the Twins, Sanchez jumps straight into the starting catcher role, which has been filled part-time by Mitch Garver for the past three seasons. He was traded to the Rangers in a deal that involved the Keener-Falef twins.
Sanchez, 29, hit .204/.307/.423 with 23 homers and 54 RBIs in 440 games last season. He is capable of 40 seasons if he succeeds at once. Maybe a change of scenery will reveal something. Notably, its defensive performance is quite low.
Urshela, 30, hit .267/.301/.419 (96 OPS+) with 14 homers and 49 RBIs last season. In 2019-20 with the Yankees, Urshela cut a combined .310/.359/.523 (134 OPS+), so the Twins will be hoping they get that version.