Yankees: 4 ways they lost the free agent shortstop frenzy
By Tim Boyle
The Yankees found their shortstop in a trade with the Twins
A blockbuster trade between the Yankees and Minnesota Twins sent Josh Donaldson and shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Bronx along with catcher Ben Rortvedt in exchange for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela. Donaldson was a contract Minnesota had wanted to move and Kiner-Falefa was acquired in a separate deal with the Texas Rangers only a day prior. Rortvedt was needed in the deal to give New York a new catcher to replace Sanchez.
The winner of this trade is TBD and will be for longer than just the 2022 season. Many of those involved have a chance to become some of the best at their position while others will surely find themselves struggling for playing time sooner than later.
Kiner-Falefa will now get his chance to start for the Yankees at shortstop until one of their prospects is ready to take over. A lifetime .265/.316/.354 hitter with limited power, his greatest gift is his defense. It’s not exactly what fans were hoping for.
The mostly one-dimensional shortstop does make the Yankees better on that side of the ball and should allow Gleyber Torres to move over to second base where he’ll look more comfortable.
In an average offseason, it’s not such a bad choice. However, this was a free agent class of shortstops like no other. And two other things happened to make the Yankees look like they were losers in the frenzy.