Yankees Acquire 2B Rougned Odor from Rangers

The Yankees made a rare early season trade today, acquring 2B Rougned Odor from the Rangers in exchange for two outfield prospects, Antonio Cabello and Josh Stowers. We also know that the Rangers will be covering almost all of Odor’s remaining $27 million salary through 2022. A corresponding 40-man roster move will be announced likely before tonight’s game.

Odor is best known for landing a hard right hook to Jose Bautista’s jaw May 15, 2016 after the Blue Jays outfielder slid hard into second base to break up a double play after his epic bat flip in the 2015 playoffs. Odor also carries a powerful bat, having eclipsed 30 home runs three times in his career. Unfortunately, Odor’s offense has cratered since 2018. After slashing .253/.326/.424 in 2018, Odor only managed .205/.283/.439 in 2019 and an even worse .167/.209/.413 in 2020. There are some bright spots to this deal though. Odor is only 27 years old and should be entering his prime. Also, per FanGraphs, Odor has continued to hit the ball hard since 2018:

I’m not putting much stock into 2020, but the numbers in 2018 and 2019 are a strikingly similar batted ball profile that lead me to believe the real Rougned Odor could be somewhere in between those numbers. Would Yankee fans balk at having a backup infielder hit .230 with 30 homer potential? It would certainly be an upgrade over the Tyler Wade and Thairo Estrada experiences of the last two seasons, and Odor’s swing should be tailormade for the short porch in right. Odor’s walk rate also went up to a career high 9.0% in 2019. While that isn’t ideal, it’s still a good sign. The one change in Odor’s batted ball profile comes in his groundball and flyball percentages:

Defensively, Odor has never played any position other than second base at the Major League level, but the Rangers did try him at third base in Spring Training. The metrics have never graded Odor as a great defender, but he also won’t kill you defensively either.That’s a bit concerning as are his strikeout totals. Odor struck out in 23.7% of his at bats in 2018, but that number jumped to 30.6% in 2019 and 31.8% in 2020. However, the Yankees have worked wonders with hitters in recent years, and could strike gold once again with Odor. He is still young enough to turn things around, and has a track record that gives the Yankees something to dream on offensively.

All in all, this is merely a depth move, but it could pay significant dividends if Odor returns to his 2018 form. Either way, Odor is an upgrade over Tyler Wade off the bench if that’s whose spot he takes, as both Joel Sherman and Bob Klapisch have speculated. Odor figures to bring lefty pop at a cheap price to a team that has lacked it for several years.