Less than two days ago the Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees agreed on a blockbuster trade but Twins and Yankee fans are in a quandary about what to think of the deal. Social sites for both teams seem to be up in arms about the deal with both sides thinking they got the short end of the stick.
The trade in question calls for the New Yorker’s sending 29-year old catcher Gary Sanchez and 30-year old third baseman Gio Urshela to Minnesota for 36 year-old third baseman Josh Donaldson, 27-year old shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa and 24-year old catcher Ben Rortvedt.
It appears that there were multiple reasons to make the trade. The Twins seem to be looking to get out from under the $50 million the team owes Donaldson over the next two seasons and the Yankees have wanted to move Sanchez for some time. It is one of those situations where you swap my problems for your problems. The Yankees were in desperate need of a shortstop and the Twins had just acquired Kiner-Falefa from Texas earlier in the day. So in order for the Yankees to take Donaldson and pay him what he is owed the Yankees needed to get Kiner-Falefa in the deal and they wanted Rortvedt to replace Sanchez. Getting Donaldson and Kiner-Falefa made Urshela expendable and he was on his way to Minnesota.
The problem the Twins have with Sanchez, a two-time All-Star as a catcher is that he is kind of a sieve behind the plate, leading the league in passed balls in three of the last five seasons plus his hitting has gone steadily down hill every year for the last five seasons. Sanchez has power but the question is if his poor catching skills and his lack of contact make him a viable player for Minnesota. Early reports had the Twins flipping him but I am not sure there would be many takers now. Maybe as the season moves along and injuries wipe out a teams catchers there might be a market for his bat.
Urshela started his career as a light-hitting third baseman for the Cleveland Indians back in 2015 and then moved on to Toronto and was purchased by the Yankees in August 2018 with just 167 big league games played. Out of the clear blue he started hitting in New York in 2019 and has been there third baseman ever since. The bad news is that his hitting too has gone down hill every year since. The Yankees just a day earlier stated that Urshela was going to be their shortstop in 2022 unless the landscape changed. It obviously did but can Urshela play shortstop? If so who plays third? Is Jose Miranda ready for the step to the big leagues? Do you move Miguel Sano back to third? Do you want a light hitter like Luis Arraez playing the hot corner? Lots of questions as the 2022 season prepares to start shortly.
So the Twins find themselves having traded two catchers in Rortvedt and Mitch Garver, much like the situation back in 2012 when they traded both of their center fielders, Denard Span and Ben Revere and betting it all on Aaron Hicks in their hunt for more pitching.
The Twins now seem to have some money in their pockets but they still need starting pitching, they have a hole at shortstop again and the catching that was once in good hands is now all of a sudden an issue too. With all that money the fans are convinced the Twins are in hot pursuit of Trevor Story one of two big name free agents shortstops still on the market. Who knows where the Falvey & Levine train will take us next. When the off-season began Twins fans were yelling for some action from the FO, now some are wondering what the heck is going on. Is there really a master plan or have Falvey and Levine gone rogue and don’t have a clue.
I certainly don’t have the answer but you better hold because I thing this wild ride is far from over. Chaos seem to reign in Twins Territory. Hopefully the big picture comes into focus here soon.