Sports

Yankees Trade Gary Sanchez, Gio Urshela

The New York Yankees have acquired INF Josh Donaldson, INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa and C Ben Rortvedt from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for C Gary Sánchez and INF Gio Urshela.

The Yankees gave up on their former All-Star catcher Sanchez who could hit booming home runs but was a defensive liability behind home plate.

Donaldson, 36, has hit .269/.367/.505 (1,179-for-4,379) with 739R, 254 doubles, 12 triples, 251HR, 728RBI and 649BB in 1,201 career games over 11 Major League seasons with Oakland (2010, ’12-14), Toronto (2015-18), Cleveland (2018), Atlanta (2019) and Minnesota (2020-21). In 2021, he hit .247 (113-for-457) with 73R, 26 doubles, 26HR, 72RBI and 74BB in 135 games with the Twins.

The 2015 American League Most Valuable Player is a three-time All-Star (2014-16) and two-time AL Silver Slugger Award winner (2015-16). He was also named the 2019 NL Comeback Player of the Year with the Braves.

The right-handed batter has hit at least 20 home runs seven times in his career (2013-17, ’19, ’21) and at least 30HR four times (2015-17, ’19). His seven 20HR seasons since 2013 are tied for the fourth-most in the Majors in that span (Kyle Seager, Anthony Rizzo and Nelson Cruz each have eight). His 241HR over that same stretch are the 10th-most in the Majors. He was one of six Major League players to hit at least 30HR in each season from 2015-17.

Donaldson has made the postseason in seven of his last 10 seasons, batting .260 (39-for-150) with 19R, 11 doubles, 5HR, 16RBI and 15BB in 39 career playoff games.

The Pensacola, Fla., native was originally selected in the first round (48th overall) of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft out of Auburn University. He was acquired by Oakland with RHP Sean Gallagher, OF Matt Murton and OF Eric Patterson in exchange for RHP Chad Gaudin and RHP Rich Harden on July 8, 2008. On November 28, 2014, Donaldson was acquired by Toronto from Oakland in exchange for INF Brett Lawrie, RHP Kendall Graveman, LHP Sean Nolin and INF Franklin Barreto. He was then acquired by Cleveland with cash considerations from the Toronto Blue Jays on August 31, 2018.

Kiner-Falefa, 26, batted .271 (172-for-635) with 74R, 25 doubles, 3 triples, 8HR, 53RBI, 28BB, 20SB, a .312 on-base percentage and a .670 OPS in 158 games for the Texas Rangers in 2021. He was just acquired by the Twins on Saturday along with minor league right-handed pitcher Ronny Henriquez in exchange for catcher Mitch Garver.

Last season the 5’11”, 190-pound infielder led Texas in games played, hits, triples (tied), stolen bases (20), multi-hit games (44), and three-plus hit games (16) as the club’s primary shortstop. He also finished with career highs in several offensive categories including home runs, RBI and stolen bases. He also had the highest batting average among Rangers’ qualifiers, while leading Major League Baseball with 136 singles.

Originally drafted by Texas in the fourth round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of Mid-Pacific Institute High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, he has hit .265 (372-for-1,404) with 168R, 59 doubles, 9 triples, 16HR, 118RBI, 84BB, 38SB, a .316 on-base percentage and a .670 OPS in 392 career Major League games, all with the Rangers. He will become the fifth Hawaii-born player in franchise history, joining pitchers Brian Fisher (1985-86) and Kirby Yates (2016) and position players Lenn Sakata (1987) and Bronson Sardinha (2007).

The 26-year-old won the 2020 Rawlings American League Gold Glove Award at third base, along with the Rangers 2020 Player of the Year Award, as voted on by the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. He transitioned to shortstop in 2021 and posted a .972 fielding percentage (19E/669TC) at the position, leading Major League shortstops in total chances (669), assists (436) and double plays turned (98). Kiner-Falefa also ranked tied for third among MLB shortstops with 10 defensive runs saved, per The Fielding Bible, trailing only Houston’s Carlos Correa (20) and Minnesota’s Andrelton Simmons (15). Additionally, he has played 73 career Major League games at catcher, posting a .996 fielding percentage in 586.0 innings behind the plate with just 2E and 8 passed balls.

Rortvedt, 24, saw his first Major League action in 2021, batting .169/229/.281 (15-for-89) with 8R 1 double, 3 home runs and 7RBI in 39 games played, including 28 starts. Selected by Minnesota in second round (56th overall) of 2016 First-Year Player Draft; the Wisconsin native has hit .241/.316/.355 (271-for-1,123) with 122R, 57 doubles, 4 triples, 21HR, 134RBI and 108BB in 325 minor league games. Previously invited to the last three spring trainings by Minnesota, he was named best defensive catcher in the Twins minor league system by Baseball America following the 2019 season.

Sánchez, 29, has hit .230 (444-for-1,932) with 299R, 78 doubles, 2 triples, 138HR, 340RBI and 220BB in 538 career games over parts of seven Major League seasons, all with the Yankees (2015-21). A two-time All-Star (2017, ’19) and 2017 AL Silver Slugger Award winner, he hit .204 (78-for-383) with 54R, 13 doubles, 1 triple, 23HR, 54RBI and 52BB in 117 games last season. His138 career HR are fifth-most by a player through 538 career games, trailing only Ryan Howard (163), Aaron Judge (147), Eddie Mathews (141) and Ralph Kiner (140). The Santo Domingo, D.R., native was originally signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2009.

Urshela, 30, has hit .271 (401-for-1,479) with 185R, 79 doubles, 3 triples, 49HR, 192RBI and 91BB in 458 career games over parts of six Major League seasons with Cleveland (2015, ’17), Toronto (2018) and the Yankees (2019-21). In 2021, the right-handed batter hit .267 (112-for-420) with 42R, 18 doubles, 2 triples, 14HR, 49RBI and 20BB in 116 games. The Cartagena, Colombia, native was acquired by the Yankees from Toronto in exchange for cash considerations on August 4, 2018. He was originally signed by Cleveland as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2008.