Yankees Acquire Infielder Rougned Odor in Trade With Rangers
Photo Via: Jerome Miron — USA TODAY SportsSurprising news broke today when the Yankees acquired Rougned Odor, who was recently designated for assignment by the Texas Rangers.
Info on Rougned Odor: Since 2014, Odor had been on the Rangers major league roster. Widely known for being the player who punched Jose Bautista in the face, Odor swung at a lot of baseballs, too. He led the American League in strikeouts (178) in 2019, while hitting 30 home runs. He also led the American League in times caught stealing (12) in 2018, and led the majors in games (162) in 2017. Most recently, he hit 10 home runs with a .167 average, a .209 OBP, and .623 OPS in 2020.
Rougned Odor’s Contract (Texas will pay all of Odor’s salary):
2021 — $12M
2022 — $12M
2023 — $12M or $3M buyout
There are four main questions as a response to this trade announcement:
Who did the Yankees trade to Texas?
Will Rougned Odor be on the major league roster?
Who will leave the 26-man roster?
Who will leave the 40-man roster?
First, the Yankees traded outfield prospects Josh Stowers and Antonio Cabello to the Rangers.
Info on Josh Stowers: The 24-year-old prospect was drafted out of Louisville in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners. The Yankees acquired him from Seattle in January of 2019 in exchange for infielder Shed Long. He had 460 plate appearances for Single-A Charleston in 2019, hitting to a .273 average and .386 on-base percentage. The right-handed hitting Stowers also hit 7 home runs and stole 35 bases that season. In the field, he played mostly right field, but went to center at times as well. He becomes Rule 5 Draft eligible in December of this year and the Yankees were unlikely to be able to protect Stowers (the Yankees would have had to add Stowers to the 40-man roster), so the club opted to part ways now while it can get a return.
Info on Antonio Cabello: With two seasons remaining before the Yankees are required to make a Rule 5 decision on him, it was a surprise to see 20-year-old Antonio Cabello included in the trade. However, with Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, Clint Frazier, and Mike Tauchman under team control for three or more seasons, plus the high likelihood that the team reaches an extension with Aaron Judge, the Yankees may have seen the writing on the wall with Cabello. He was an international signing for the Yankees out of Venezuela prior to the 2018 season. As a 17-year-old in 2018, he hit for a .308 average in 159 Rookie ball at bats, but only hit .211 in 227 at bats the following season, also in Rookie ball. Cabello bats right-handed and is athletic, but not necessarily speedy.
Second, Rougned Odor is likely to be on the Yankees major league roster, and expect an announcement regarding that soon. With over 6 years of service time accumulation, Odor would have to accept a minor league assignment, which could happen, but is out of the Yankees’ control.
Third, the Yankees will have to remove a player from the 26-man roster in order to make room for Odor. It will likely be a position player, and barring an unforeseen injury announcement, it really comes down to either Tyler Wade, Mike Tauchman, or Jay Bruce. The smoothest transition would be the Yankees using Tyler Wade’s final minor league option by sending him to the alternate site. Wade does not have an everyday role on the team and can always be called back up if an infield injury occurs. Mike Tauchman is out of minor league options, so his removal would have to come by way of a DFA, and Tauchman would certainly get scooped up by one of the other 29 major league teams. Given his speed, outfield defense, flashes of skilled hitting, and four years of team control remaining, this option would probably sting the most for Yankees fans. Jay Bruce is currently the team’s starting first baseman, so this is the least likely of the three choices, but theoretically the Yankees need to eventually free up the first base position when Luke Voit returns anyways. Odor could play second base and the Yankees could shift LeMahieu to first base temporarily until Voit returns. The Yankees would save $1.5 million since the Rangers are paying all of Odor’s salary.
Lastly, as far as the 40-man roster moves go, the Yankees can free up space in one of two ways. The club can place a player on the 60-day injured list or outright release/designate a player for assignment. If Tauchman or Bruce are removed from the 26-man roster, they would likely be removed outright from the 40-man and solve both problems. If Wade is optioned to the minors, the Yankees have two candidates to place on the 60-day IL: Zack Britton and Miguel Andújar. Mike Ford is an outside shot to be designated for assignment if no players are placed on the 60-day IL.
Update: The Yankees announced the corresponding roster moves.