BREAKING: Yankees trade C Gary Sanchez and 3B Gio Urshela to Minnesota Twins for 3B Josh Donaldson and SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa

By -

Photo credit: NY Daily News

After a long lockout winter, the Yankees' hot stove is heating up... but not at all how all of us fans had hoped. 

Instead of news of the arrival of one Carlos Correa or Freddie Freeman, late on Sunday night, a number of Yankees insiders announced a blockbuster trade in which Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who just arrived in Minnesota from Texas not 48 hours ago, would be heading to the Bronx from Minnesota.

Legit, not even 48 hours ago, as I remarked myself (file this one away under tweets that aged horribly):

In exchange for IKF and Donaldson, the Yankees will be sending Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela to Minnesota.  The Yankees, according to Jon Heyman, will absorb a monster paycheck along with Donaldson (and no, we're not related). 

Some of the implications of this trade include...

Who will catch? 
Kyle Higashioka better get used to getting a lot more time.  We know that Gary wasn't looking all that sharp behind the plate in recent memory, but Higgy isn't used to serving as a daily catcher (especially for pitchers who aren't named Gerrit Cole).  

Oh, and the other 'good' news is a catcher named Ben Rortvedt from the Twins is also coming, but no one's ever heard of him since he only started 28 games in Minnesota in 2021 and didn't even get called up to the Show until then.  But, hey, he seems like he has a great bat (insert eye-roll emoji here), one worthy of replacing Gary!

Speaking of our Ace...
Wasn't it JUST last year that Gerrit Cole and Donaldson took an all-out feud on the field?  How will that play out when they're sharing a clubhouse? 

Defensive alignment?
Per Joel Sherman, it could look like this (with the future in mind): 

Consistency is STILL key
Gio was arguably the most consistent all-around player in 2021, what with his gravity-defying catches at 3B as well as the fact that he didn't always hit for power.  To go back to 2020, who could forget this moment:
  

While Sanchez trade rumors surfaced as early as 2021, there is no getting around the fact that this news stings.  In the words of my father (who is not proud to share a last name with one of the players here), "Josh Donaldson is an 'I, Me' guy, and that's not what we need."  While emotions don't measure the same as statistics, loyal Yankees like Gary and Gio don't come around every season.  

To say they will be missed is the understatement of the offeseason.



Article by: Mary Grace Donaldson

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introducing Bronx Bomber Bets: BBBets 9/23

By -
Image
Welcome to our new gambling column at BBB, Bronx Bomber Bets. Here we will be giving out some of our favorite picks of the day and sharing them with our readers. Today, we are giving out 10 picks for all of you, so please enjoy, and bet responsibly. Now, we know that not all of our readers are big gamblers, if they are gamblers at all, so for the first week or so that we give out picks we will be explaining the odds and gambling terminology for anyone out there who is looking to learn about sports betting. Here are our picks:
Read more

Trade Market the Perfect Storm for Yankees to Acquire Starter

By -
Image
 UPDATE D 11/18/15 We’ve all heard it: The Yankees aren’t likely to be big spenders this offseason. Hearing this makes me chuckle as the Yankees have the dollars to field a $500 million pay roll if they wanted to, but their dedication to winning just hasn’t been there since the passing of good ole’ George. Sure little rumors have serviced here or there about them maybe pursuing Zach Greinke who has recently opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but that move reeks of the move CC Sabathia pulled in opting out of his contract with the Yankees a few years back to simply restructure his contract and make a better payday.   However, instances like CC Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka are why I believe the Yankees aren’t going to shell out big money and a long term contract for a big name starter this year. There are simply too many factors that could explode in the Pinstripes’ face when giving a long contract to a starter as evidenced by Sabathia’s fall from g...
Read more

Pride, Passion and Pinstripes: The greatest Yankees to ever touch the field

By -
Image
No team in baseball history has a story quite like the Yankees. 27 times they’ve found baseball Nirvana which is 16 more than the next closest team (Cardinals). 40 times have the Yankees won the American League, and that is also a major league record. The franchise won four straight championships from 1936-1939 and five straight from 1949-1953, a task no other team has ever accomplished. With all this sustained success, the team has seen some of the greatest players in league history proudly call the Bronx home. Together the Yankees could field multiple All-Star teams with their collective legends, but in this article, I’m going to try and put together a team of legends that I think would be absolutely unbeatable.   Photo Credit: Creative Commons
Read more