The Yankees Got Their Shortstop - and it’s Not Correa or Story.
Lots to Unpack in Yankees/Twins Trade
Image via @mlbonfox on Instagram
Written by Jacob Coates
March 13, 2022: The New York Yankees have acquired 3B Josh Donaldson, SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Catcher Ben Rortvedt from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for Catcher Gary Sanchez and 3B Gio Urshela (per Jeff Passan). Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the Yankees are absorbing all of the remaining $50 Million on Josh Donaldson’s salary.
A Look at the Players on the Move
Yankees Haul:
Josh Donaldson: Now 36 years old and far removed from his 2015 MVP season, Donaldson has still been a solid player when on the field. Over his last 3 seasons with the Braves and Twins, JD has an .865 OPS and a 127 OPS+. He’s also slugged 69 homers (nice), while scoring 183 times and racking up 177 RBI’s.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa: Originally a catcher, IKF won a Gold Glove at 3B in 2020 before transitioning into the Rangers full-time shortstop in 2021. His transition went smoothly, as the analytics indicate he is one of the leagues best defensive shortstops. His 2 defensive runs above replacement ranked 3rd in the AL in 2021. He also led the majors in assists and range factor per game. Offensively, he was baseball’s leader in singles with 136 in 2021. He does not offer much pop, slugging just .354 for his career. His .670 OPS and 81 OPS+ leave a lot to be desired, but in a Yankees lineup full of sluggers, a guy who hits a lot of singles and can steal 20 bases a season actually slots in nicely.
Ben Rortvedt: is a catcher that is not worth doing a deep dive on. The guy is 24 and has 39 big league games under his belt. His minor league numbers aren’t great, though he seems to be a solid defensive catcher.
Twins Receive:
Gary Sanchez: Full disclosure, the Diamond Gems Baseball Podcast hosts are big time Gary Sanchez haters. Sure, the guy can run into a homerun, he’s slugged 138 of them for his career. However, he is an absolute train-wreck at just about everything else. For the last 4 seasons, he’s batted .201 with a .299 OBP and earned himself a below league average 99 OPS+. Defensively, he’s led the league in errors and passed balls for catchers 3 times, he consistently puts up negative defensive runs saved and defensive WAR seasons, and only had a 17% Caught Stealing rate in 2021. Oh, and he ranked 55th of 59 catchers in terms of pitch framing last season. Going into his age 30 season, Sanchez is running out of time to live up to the hype, and it appears New York has lost patience. His potential for power has always kept Yankee fans hopeful, but they’re better off without him behind the dish.
Gio Urshela: Initially regarded as a strong defensive 3B, Urshela’s breakout offensive season came in 2019 when he slashed .314/.355/.534, hit 21 homers, and had a 133 OPS+ in his first season with the Yankees. He followed it up with a solid shortened 2020, earning a 137 OPS+. He did take a step backward in 2021, seeing a significant drop in slugging and on base percentage. To be fair though, he was playing through injuries for most of the year. Going into his age 30 season, we may have seen Gio Urshela’s best years, but he could still be a solid piece.
Who won the trade?
People always like to ask this question, but in this case the deal makes sense for both teams. The Twins seem to be in a rebuild of sorts, and dealing Josh Donaldson dumps his $50 Million contract. Additionally, they receive a couple players who they could flip at the deadline if the performance is respectable.
For the Yankees, they receive an offensive upgrade at the hot corner. However, a 36 year old Josh Donaldson poses a large injury risk for an already injury prone lineup. This could end up being a brilliant move, but there’s also plenty of room for disaster. Isiah Kiner-Falefa is a very interesting and underrated piece in this trade. Last year, the Yanks were a mess defensively. Their biggest holes were at centerfield and shortstop. IKF absolutely has the potential to solve the Yankees defensive problems at the latter. Allowing Gleyber Torres to slide over 2B makes the Yankees better on its own.
There really is no clear winner here, as there is upside for both teams, but we’ll take the Yankees for arguments sake.
Juicy Storylines
Josh Donaldson and Gerrit Cole on the Same Team?
Much has been made of the fact that Josh Donaldson and Gerrit Cole are “bitter rivals”. For those that are unaware, JD publicly called out Cole last season as someone who used “performance enhancing” substances, pointing to Coles drop in spin rate post sticky substance ban. Cole responded and said he thought Donaldson’s comments were “low hanging fruit”. Some people think that putting these two in the same clubhouse is a recipe for disaster.
So is there anything to this? In my opinion, this will lead to nothing more than an awkward conversation between the two that will likely end in a handshake and squashed beef. Both of these guys are professionals and highly competitive. Though they may never become best friends, their urge to win will likely keep things cordial.
Are the Yankees Out on the Carlos Correa and Trevor Story Sweepstakes?
Photo via Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
At the end of the 2021 season, the Yankees front office made it no secret that they were looking to acquire a new shortstop. The club has allegedly been in talks with both Correa and Story, but no deal has been struck with either of them yet. The thing that no one seems to be talking about is the fact that this Isiah Kiner-Falefa pick up could be the Yankees permanent solution at shortstop. If that is the case, the Yankees could be out on Carlos Correa and Trevor Story.
Why Would the IKF Pick-Up Take Them Out?
While there is no guarantee that they are out, here is why I think the Yankees are out on the big shortstop free agents.
Why would the Yankees acquire Kiner-Falefa if they did not intend for him to be their starting shortstop? First of all, you can scroll back up to see IKF’s resume. He is no doubt a worthy starter at SS for a big league ball club.
Secondly, the acquisitions of a 3B in JD and a SS/3B in IKF already create a bit of a log jam in the infield that would be further complicated by another infielder signing. They currently have Josh Donaldson (3B), Isiah Kiner-Falefa (SS/3B), Gleyber Torres (2B/SS), DJ Lemahieu (2B, 1B, 3B), and Luke Voit (1B). Joey Gallo can also play corner infield, but it seems the Yankees will likely deploy him as an outfielder. The DH spot is also kind of backlogged with the likes of Stanton, Voit, and Gallo all likely to take some days in that role.
The acquisition of Correa or Story would force guys like Torres, IKF, into more permanent bench time, which doesn’t seem like something any of those guys would take in stride.
For those reasons, I think that’s all your getting Yankee fans…