Rougned Odor Traded to Yankees from Rangers for 2 Prospects

The New York Yankees acquired second baseman Rougned Odor and cash considerations from the Texas Rangers in exchange for minor league outfielders Antonio Cabello and Josh Stowers on Tuesday.

ESPN's Jeff Passan was the first to report a deal was being finalized.

The Rangers left Odor off their Opening Day roster for this season, at which point president of baseball operations Jon Daniels indicated the 27-year-old's future was likely playing elsewhere.

Odor makes $12 million in 2021 and 2022 before he has a $13.5 million club option for 2023 that includes a $3 million buyout. Passan reported the Rangers are "expected to absorb almost the entirety of the $27 million owed."

That the Rangers would not only trade Odor, but also take on a lot of his outstanding money in order to do so is an indicator as to how much his on-field value has fallen in recent seasons.

In 2016, a 22-year-old Odor had 33 home runs, 88 RBI and a .271/.296/.502 slash line. He finished 14th in WAR (2.5) among second basemen, per FanGraphs.

Since then, the Venezuela native is batting .215 with a .279 on-base percentage, per Baseball Reference. His strikeouts (514) have far outpaced his hits (374) as well.

Still, Odor is a worthwhile gamble for the Yankees, especially since they won't be paying his full salary. New York already has an everyday second baseman in DJ LeMahieu, so this trade is about adding depth to the middle of the infield and getting a left-handed slugger to provide a platoon advantage.

The short porch in right field could work to Odor's benefit, too. Shortstop Didi Gregorius had 22 homers through his first four seasons before exploding for 20 in 2016, his second as a Yankee. Granted, Gregorius made contact at a far better rate than Odor, so they're not exactly at the same starting point when they embarked on their Yankee tenures. 

In general, there doesn't appear to be too much downside for the Yankees. They already have so much offensive depth, so they won't suffer too much if Odor's struggles at the plate carry over into 2021.