Yankees have officially made the Reunion with Fan Favorite but unfortunately…
The New York Yankees seem to be active on the free agent market with Spring Training around the corner. According to Jon Morosi, the Yankees have shown interest in Gio Urshela. Morosi writes that the New York Mets and Miami Marlins are showing interest, too. He spent the 2019-2021 seasons with New York before being traded to the Minnesota Twins with Gary Sanchez for Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Urshela played well for the Twins, slashing .285/.338/.429 with 13 home runs in 144 games. The 32-year-old was last seen with the Los Angeles Angels in 2023. In 62 games, he slashed .299/.329/.374 with just two home runs before a season-ending injury.
With six infielders on their 40-man roster, including Jorbit Vivas who has not made his big league debut yet, the Yankees could use another infielder. It is uncertain how much Urshela would command in free agency, but he would not be a bad plug-and-play infielder on a cheap deal. His performance with New York was always steady. His best season came in 2021 when he hit 21 home runs and slashed .314/.355/.534. His 2021 season was impressive too, blasting 14 home runs and slashing .267/.301/.419. It was questionable when the Yankees made the trade, and the production they got out of Donaldson and Kiner-Falefa made it look even worse. Neither of them played well and fans were all over them during their time in the Bronx.
Urhsela is not a player who is going to win any team a World Series, but he could provide value when guys need a day off.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has made a handful of acquisitions for New York’s 2024 bullpen. Luke Weaver was re-signed to a one-year deal. Victor Gonzalez and Caleb Ferguson were also acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers in separate trades. But as it currently stands, Clay Holmes is still expected to be the Yankees’ closer, per FanGraphs’ Roster Resource.
Williams would give manager Aaron Boone an elite ninth-inning option, moving Holmes into an eighth-inning setup role.
