The New York Yankees have acquired Rougned Odor

By Cam Lewis
2 years agoIt looks like we’re going to be seeing a whole bunch more of Rougned Odor.
According to Jeff Passan, the Yankees are acquiring Odor from the Rangers and Texas wants to move on from him so badly that they’re eating the majority of the $27 million left on his contract.
Odor, of course, had been designated for assignment prior to the start of the 2021 season after a mediocre spring training followed up a disastrous 2020 campaign. In 38 games last season, Odor slashed a .167/.209/.413 line with an outrageous 47-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Things have generally gone poorly for Odor since he signed his six-year, $49.5 million contract extension after what appeared to be a breakout season in 2016. He slashed a .267/.305/.487 line between 2015 and 2016 and was a key part of the Rangers’ offence those seasons (you know, the ones who lost in the ALDS back-to-back) but completely cratered after that. Between 2017 and 2020, his OPS dipped to .697 and he struck out 514 times.
It’s sort of bizarre that the Yankees are adding yet another strikeout-prone player to their lineup but they’re so righty-heavy that I can see why they feel this is a worthwhile risk to take. Yankee Stadium, of course, really caters to lefty hitters, so maybe Odor can have a bounceback playing there.
Hopefully that isn’t the case!
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