Twins acquire Gary Sánchez and Gio Urshela from New York Yankees
FORT MYERS, FL – The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have acquired catcher Gary Sánchez and infielder Gio Urshela from the New York Yankees in exchange for third baseman Josh Donaldson, infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa and catcher Ben Rortvedt.
Sánchez, 29, batted .204 (78-for-383) with 13 doubles, 23 home runs, 54 RBI, 52 walks, a .307 on-base percentage and a .730 OPS in 117 games for the Yankees last season. He was an American League All-Star in 2017 and ’19, finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2016 and won a Silver Slugger at catcher in 2017.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound catcher has spent his entire seven-year career with New York, hitting .230 (444-for-1932) with 78 doubles, two triples, 138 home runs, 340 RBI, 299 runs scored, a .318 on-base percentage and an .804 OPS in 538 major league games, after signing with the Yankees as an international free agent out of Loma De Cabrera, Dominican Republic in 2011. He ranks third among all major league catchers with 116 home runs since 2015, and also ranks seventh with 254 runs scored and 293 RBI.
Urshela, 30, batted .267 (112-for-420) with 18 doubles, two triples, 49 RBI, 42 runs scored, a .301 on-base percentage and a .720 OPS in 116 games for the Yankees last season. The 6-foot, 215-pound infielder made his major league debut for Cleveland in 2015 and has hit .271 (401-for-1479) with 79 doubles, three triples, 49 home runs, 192 RBI, 91 walks, a .316 on-base percentage and a .744 OPS in 458 career major league games for Cleveland, Toronto and New York. A native of Cartagena, Colombia, Urshela ranks third among Colombian-born major leaguers in career home runs and fourth in hits.
Donaldson, 36, batted .247 (113-for-457) with 26 doubles, 26 home runs, 72 RBI, 73 runs scored, 74 walks, a .352 on-base percentage and an .827 OPS in 135 games for the Twins last season. The Pensacola, Florida native was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 2020 and hit .243 (131-for-538) with 28 doubles, 32 home runs, 83 RBI, 87 runs scored, 92 walks, a .355 on-base percentage and an .829 OPS in 163 games over two seasons with Minnesota. He was given the 2021 Mike Augustin “Media Good Guy” Award, as voted by the Twins Cities Chapter of the BBWAA.
Kiner-Falefa, 26, was acquired from the Texas Rangers yesterday, alongside minor league right-handed pitcher Ronny Henriquez in exchange for catcher Mitch Garver.
Rortvedt, 24, was selected by Minnesota in the second round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft and made his major league debut for the Twins last season, hitting .169 (15-for-89) with one double, three home runs, seven RBI, eight runs scored, a .229 on-base percentage and a .510 OPS in 39 games.