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Yankees: Rougned Odor shaving his beard will truly blow your mind

ByThomas Carannante|
SEATTLE, WA - AUGUST 23: Rougned Odor #12 of the Texas Rangers walks off the field after an at-bat during a game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on August 23, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners won 4-1. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - AUGUST 23: Rougned Odor #12 of the Texas Rangers walks off the field after an at-bat during a game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on August 23, 2020 in Seattle, Washington. The Mariners won 4-1. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)

Everyone was taken for a loop when the New York Yankees ended up trading for Texas Rangers infielder Rougned Odor. The first thought was, “How is he going to fit in with this roster?”

The immediate next question: What will Odor look like with no facial hair? His scruff, throughout his MLB career, seemed to define him in a sense.

After days of waiting since the trade became official, Odor was activated ahead of Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays and Tyler Wade was optioned.

As a result, we got our first look at Odor after a clean shave, and … my goodness. He immediately flashed back to his high school days.

THIS is the guy that clocked Jose Bautista in the jaw with a clean right jab, knocking his sunglasses and helmet off? How can he possibly bring the same energy to this Yankees roster?!

It seems like he’ll have to turn it up a notch to strike fear into his opponents now. If the Yankees wanted to add swagger to the roster with this move, perhaps they should consider changing their facial hair policy.

Though it seems like Odor has been in MLB forever, he’s only 27 years old, so after knowing that it isn’t as shocking he looks this young, but what a difference that scraggly beard made.

We will say, though, Odor’s swing is looking smooth as well. He took batting practice with the team shortly after arriving in Tampa.

But we still can’t believe that’s him.

Odor has three 30-homer seasons to his name across his seven-year MLB career, but he’s also hit at or near the Mendoza line three times. Even more puzzling? He’s never had an OPS of .800 or more, even with those power-filled campaigns.

He’s a mysterious player no doubt, but the Yankees likely feel that inserting him into their stacked top-to-bottom lineup can help unlock that potential on a consistent basis. After all, the Rangers have ben one of the worst teams in all of baseball the last four years or so.

Hopefully Odor getting comfortable in the lineup takes less time than it will for us to get used to his new look.

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