This article first appeared in Spanish at endi.com. It was translated and edited for our English dominant readers. We also know that there are many Yankee fans who liked both #GarySanchez & #GioUrshela and would enjoy reading this.
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Fort Myers, Florida.- In the morning hours of March 13, Colombian Gio Urshela looked very happy and excited when he received the news that the New York Yankees were going to give him the starting job at shortstop.
But hours later, everything changed. When night came, Urshela received notification from the Bronx that he had been traded to the Minnesota Twins along with catcher Gary Sánchez.
It was an unexpected surprise for the third baseman, who was in his fourth year with the Yankees.
“Most of all it was confusing,” Urshela, 30, told El Nuevo Día at the Hammond Stadium clubhouse located at the Twins’ training base.
“But, I took it in a good way. This is a business and you have to be prepared for anything. At the time, I was a little surprised because on that day they announced that I was going to be the shortstop. Then they called me in the evening to change me. I understand that it is the best for me and we have to continue with a positive mind”, added the Colombian player.
For Urshela and Sánchez, the Yankees received third baseman and former AL MVP Josh Donaldson, siore Isiah Kiner-Falefa and catcher Ben Rortvedt.
Urshela is coming off a .267 batting average season with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs. Sánchez, for his part, spent seven seasons with the Yankees, being an All-Star Player on two occasions due to his power on the wood, earning him a Silver Slugger award.
But New York’s demanding fan base instead constantly criticized him for his inconsistency in defending catcher. And he wasn’t the same hitter offensively the last two years either. He is coming off hitting .204 with 54 RBIs in 117 games.
Sánchez, 29, did not know what would happen to his future in the franchise, as he had no communication with the Yankees about any contract extension. Now, he embraces the new opportunity in an organization without extreme demands on his followers.
“I’m happy here,” Sánchez said of his departure from the Bronx. “Everyone (in Minnesota) has treated me very well here. This is the ball game. One day you’re here and the other we don’t know. Now this is my team. What was left in the past, was left in the past and it is to focus on what is here,” Sánchez added.
Urshela and Sánchez are confident that the Twins can compete in the American League Central Division, especially when the ninth signed Puerto Rican star shortstop Carlos Correa for three years and $105.3 million.
“Happy with his arrival. I know he is a winning player who is going to help us a lot this season. There is a lot of talent here that I know, united, we will make it to the playoffs,” Urshela said.
Sánchez, for his part, added that Correa “looks good, good partner. Let’s give it time to time. We have a long season in which we are going to get to know each other a lot”.
The Twins open their season Friday at Target Field against the Seattle Mariners after the original date of Thursday was postponed due to inclement weather.
