The New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins pulled off an interesting trade on Sunday that saw Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela be traded to the Twins for Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Josh Donaldson and Ben Rortvedt.
This is certainly an interesting trade for both sides. Let's hand out some trade grades.
Trade Grades For Yankees-Twins Blockbuster
Yankees: C-
There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the Yankees getting a shortstop, and they did go out and get one. Isiah Kiner-Falefa isn't that big name Yankees fans were looking for, as many thought they were going to be able to acquire somebody like Carlos Correa or Trevor Story, but this doesn't mean that this kid isn't going to be good.
However, he isn't the type of shortstop who is going to change this organization. Yes, he is going to be an above-average defender and can help this team out in the future, but at the end of the day, he really isn't as good as those other two guys.
In a way, it could be seen as a surprise that they did even go after a shortstop at this point. It seems likely that Anthony Volpe is going to be the future of this team at the shortstop position, so the question to them is why wouldn't you just play this kid now and let him struggle and get used to the big leagues if you're not going to make a legitimate big splash?
But, for now, it seems as if Kiner-Falefa and Gleyber Torres will man the middle of the infield. That is somewhat disappointing given the Correa hype, but perhaps there will still be a surprise coming.
As for the Gary Sanchez portion of this deal, Yankees fans enjoyed some of the moments he was able to give them throughout his long career with this team. He isn't a bad player by any means, but the Yankees had to make an upgrade at the catcher position. There are still some questions about who's going to fill that role now (they did acquire a young catcher in this trade), but at the end of the day, having somebody other than Sanchez being the defensive-minded catcher for the team will probably help them out.
The thing now is that Sanchez was a favorite among the fans and also a good locker room guy. It is going to be interesting to see who the Yankees are going to replace him with on a long-term basis, but they're going to have to make sure they do get somebody who's better on the defensive side of the ball than Sanchez was.
Ultimately, Kiner-Falefa is a below-average power hitter, while Donaldson has had a history of injuries the past few years, raising some questions about this deal. The Yankees are getting a C- grade for this trade.
Twins: B+
The Twins got rid of Josh Donaldson, who's going to make $50 million throughout the next two years, and they traded away a shortstop they had just recently acquired. It is questionable why Minnesota decided to trade Mitch Garver for Isiah Kiner-Falefa, but they must have known they were going to be getting another catcher back in another deal.
Gary Sanchez could potentially be a nice fit in Minnesota if he is just going to be playing against lefties, which is the rumored scenario they are going to put him in. Gio Urshela is another young kid who could potentially have a decent career if he does pan out in Minnesota. Urshela's performance dipped in 2021 after two stellar seasons in the Bronx, so perhaps he can find his bat again.
The reason why the Twins are getting a B+ for this trade is that while they didn't necessarily make their team much better, they were able to get rid of Josh Donaldson's horrible contract. That is a win in itself.
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