The New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins have pulled off a blockbuster deal on Sunday night. According to multiple reports (including Jeff Passan of ESPN), the Twins will send third baseman Josh Donaldson, newly acquired shortstop Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, and minor league catcher Ben Rortvedt to the Yankees in exchange for catcher Gary Sanchez and infielder Gio Urshela.
The New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins made a blockbuster trade
The New York Yankees had done absolutely nothing before or after the MLB lockout but now, they have addressed two infield positions with one trade.
Josh Donaldson will immediately take over and become their new everyday third baseman. Isaiah Kiner Falefa will become their new shortstop (a position that the Yankees desperately needed to address). With Donaldson taking over at third, DJ LeMahieu will likely be the team’s everyday first baseman.
However, the catcher’s position is still up in the air for the team as it was questionable with Sanchez and now, in further question, as Kyle Higashioka is at the top of the depth chart at catcher, as of this publication.
For the Twins, the move is a bit of a salary dump as the Yankees will take on all $50 million that Donaldson is owed, per Joel Sherman of The New York Post.
#Yankees are taking on all of the $50M that Donaldson is owed.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) March 14, 2022
In 2021, Donaldson played in 135 games and he had 26 homers, 72 RBI, a slash line of .247/.352/.475, 26 doubles, and an OPS+ of 132. He also had an rWAR of 3.2.
Kiner-Falefa was just acquired by the Twins on Saturday. He is not a great hitter (career 81 OPS+) but he will be a good stopgap for the Yankees until their shortstop prospects come up from the minors. Kiner-Falefa won a 2020 Gold Glove Award and was an excellent defender in 2021 too (10 Defensive Runs Saved). He can also play third, second, and catch as well.
For the Twins, Sanchez will, essentially, replace Mitch Garver, who the traded to Texas for Kiner-Falefa. He can hit for a lot of power (23 homers in 117 games in 2021) but not for a great average. Garver is a better defensive catcher, though, so the Twins have downgraded overall there.
Urshela was a good defender but he regressed both with the bat and glove in 2021 so, by and large, it was a salary dump of Donaldson for the Twins and the Yankees were able to get themselves a shortstop for two players that are just above replacement level.