Yankees stunningly trade for power-hitting infielder Rougned Odor

New York Yankees fans get special satisfaction out of watching their former enemies have to A) join the pinstripes and B) shave off their wicked facial hair from their previous destinations.

Well … welcome to the Bronx, Rougned Odor! We certainly didn’t see this coming. Now, here’s an electric trimmer.

Days after Odor (who’s thrice hit 30 home runs, but is rarely a league-average bat despite the powerful pop) failed to make the Rangers’ Opening Day roster, he’s now reportedly headed to the Yankees.

His role? Entirely unclear.

Signed through 2022, we’ve long considered the diminutive second baseman (and lefty masher) a likely candidate to someday find his way to the Red Sox in a salary dump, reigniting the rivalry with his pugnacious attitude.

Instead, he’s coming … here? Whose Yankee career does this strange move spell an end to?

The New York Yankees announced that they have acquired INF Rougned Odor and cash considerations from the Texas Rangers in exchange for minor league outfielders Antonio Cabello and Josh Stowers. A corresponding 40-man roster move will be made later today.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 6, 2021

Is this move the reason the Yankees were so reticent to announce that Tyler Wade had made the Opening Day roster?

The Yankees have traded for Rougned Odor of the Texas Rangers.

Just days ago, the Rangers seemed poised to both end their long-term relationship with Odor and eat his $27 million in leftover salary, an unpalatable amount for a player who hasn’t managed to make adjustments to his much-maligned style recently.

Odor’s iffy defense and power-only profile once led to a remarkable -1.4 WAR season back in 2017, a year in which he still smacked over 30 homers.

Texas is expected to absorb almost the entirety of the $27 million owed to Rougned Odor, who’s on his way to the Yankees, per sources. He’s due $12 million this year, $12 million next year and a $3 million buyout on a $13 million club option in 2023.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 6, 2021

Uniquely invaluable, Odor finally lost the second base job for good this winter, and prepared to seek employment elsewhere (FanGraphs theorized the Orioles might be his next home) until the Yankees shockingly came calling.

So, who’s on the hot seat? Tyler Wade, yet again? Will DJ LeMahieu play first base occasionally, handing Odor second for the season’s first month while Jay Bruce occasionally rests? Will Odor head to the Alternate Site and mash alongside Derek Dietrich? Is there an infield injury we don’t know about?

There always is, right?

We’re not sure how the Yankees ended up adding one of baseball’s strangest antagonists (and the man who once punched Jose Bautista), but ideally we’ll get some answers by end of day.

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The Yankees have traded for Rougned Odor of the Texas Rangers.

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