July 29, 2021

Lurching Left

The Yankees completed the trade for left-handed hitting outfielder Joey Gallo on Thursday:

The Yankees officially acquired the Rangers slugger on Thursday for a haul of prospects: 2B Ezequiel Duran, 2B/OF Trevor Hauver, SS Josh Smith and RHP Glen Otto. Texas is also parting with reliever Joely Rodríguez and cash considerations.

SI.com

Gallo is one of those hitters with a rather meaningless batting average, since he gets on base so much and hits for so much power that the lack of other hits doesn’t hurt that much. If he’s not hitting home runs, he’s extending the offensive context in other ways.

For Texas, Duran and Hauver are having a great years at high A, but each is 22 years old, a bit on the high side of age for that level. Smith is 23 and hitting well at A Ball, while the palindromic Otto consistently has been a high K starter throughout his career. If they all prove to be this good, they could make a very nice core for the Rangers in a year or so.

The Yankees were not done, however, as they also made a deal for Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo:

A picture of durability and consistency, the 31-year-old Rizzo has played at least 140 games in every full season since 2013 (and only missed two team games in the shortened 2020 season). He’s hit 25 or more homers six times and stands a good chance at reaching that again in 2021, plus he’s a four-time Gold Glove winner at first base.

MSN.com

That’s too big left-handed bats for New York, something they lacked. The moves did not help today, however, as the Yankees lost to the Rays 14-0.

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