The New York Yankees announced Sunday morning that they have traded infielder Thairo Estrada to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for cash considerations. San Francisco has optioned Estrada to their Alternate Site, and moved outfielder Jaylin Davis to the 60-day injured list to open up a 40-man roster spot.
Estrada was designated for assignment earlier in the week when the Yankees officially added Rougned Odor from Texas. The 25-year-old has been a utility player in the majors, making appearances at five positions, and he hit .214 in 61 games in pinstripes between 2019 and 2020.
However, his natural position is shortstop, which may have made him an attractive piece for San Francisco, who lacks depth beyond starter Brandon Crawford. Mauricio Dubon, the team’s starting center fielder, started the one game Crawford didn’t so far this season at short, and of their major-league roster, ex-Met Wilmer Flores has the most MLB experience at short, logging 162 games there – but none since 2016 – while starting second baseman and ex-Yankee Donovan Solano (two games at short last season, 40 overall) could also be an option.
San Francisco’s alternate site had two players who are nominal shortstops, but one is Arismendy Alcantara, who has not played in the Majors since 2017, and the other, Will Wilson, was the No. 15 choice in the 2019 MLB Draft and is the Giants’ No. 12 prospect but spent his lone pro season at the Advanced Rookie level.
The Yankees, oddly, are now in a similar situation, as Saturday’s optioning of Tyler Wade to the Alternate Site to make room for Odor on the 25-man roster leaves the team without a true backup. If something happened to Gleyber Torres in-game, the Yankees’ options would either be third baseman Gio Urshela, who has logged 85 career MLB innings at short and played one game there this spring, or perhaps even DJ LeMahieu, who has played four career innings at the position and none since 2014.
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