7/29/2021
The New York Yankees today announced that they have acquired INF/OF Joey Gallo, LHP Joely Rodriguez and cash considerations from the Texas Rangers in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Glenn Otto and infielders Ezequiel Duran, Trevor Hauver and Josh Smith.
Gallo, 27, was named to his second All-Star team earlier this season (also 2019) and is tied for fifth in the AL and tied for sixth in the Majors with 25 home runs while batting .223/.379/.490 (69-for-310) with 57R, 6 doubles, 1 triple, 55RBI, a .869 OPS and a Major League-leading 74 walks.
Originally selected by the Rangers in the supplemental first round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft (39th overall) out of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Gallo has hit .211 (385-for-1,826) with 319R, 74 doubles, 7 triples, 145HR and 317 RBI in 568 games over seven Major League seasons (2015-21), all with Texas.
Since 2017, his 138HR entering tonight’s play rank sixth in the Majors, trailing only Nelson Cruz (154), J.D. Martinez (151), Nolan Arenado (144), Eugenio Suarez (143) and Mike Trout (142). Additionally, Gallo has averaged 1HR every 12.27AB over that stretch, the second-best mark in the Majors (Trout-11.68) among players with at least 1,500 PA. He also posted totals of 41HR and 80RBI in 2017 and 40HR and 92RBI in 2018 and is one of just three players in the Majors to hit at least 40HR and record 80RBI in at least two different seasons since 2017 (also J.D. Martinez and Khris Davis).
Gallo, a 6’ 5”, 255 lb. left-handed hitter who throws with his right hand, won his first career Gold Glove Award in 2020, earning the honor for his play in right field in his first full year at the position (53G in the shortened season). Gallo led qualified MLB right fielders with an Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) of 6.1, good for the fourth-highest mark in that category among all MLB fielders behind only Nolan Arenado (8.5), Kevin Kiermaier (7.7) and Trent Grisham (7.5). Last year he played 457.2 innings in the field (456.2 in RF and 1.0 in CF) and handled 123 chances without committing an error. Over his career Gallo has appeared at five positions, including 95G/85GS at first base (.995 fielding pct.), 92G/80GS at third base (.921), 156G/131GS in left field (.988), 55G/49GS in center field (.975) and 152G/151GS in right field (.986).
In 2019, Gallo was named to his first Midsummer Classic and homered in his only plate appearance in the game — a seventh-inning solo home run off Will Smith, which marked the AL’s final run of the evening in a 4-3 win.
Rodríguez, 29, went 1-3 with one save and a 5.93 ERA (27.1IP, 32H, 19R/18ER, 12BB, 30K, 3HR) in 31 relief appearances with Texas in 2021, holding left-handed batters to a .176/.282/.206 slash line. The left-handed pitcher missed the first 13 games of the season on the injured list with a left ankle sprain (March 29 – April 16).
In four Major League seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies (2016-17) and Texas Rangers (2020-21), he has gone 2-5 with a 5.05 ERA (76.2IP, 85H, 51R/43ER, 36BB, 72K, 7HR) in 81 relief appearances. He also spent two seasons (2018-19) with the Chunichi Dragons of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League, going 3-7 with a 1.85 ERA (87.2IP, 18ER) over 90 relief appearances in that span.
The Santo Domingo, D.R., native was originally signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a non-drafted free agent on March 31, 2009. He was acquired by Philadelphia from Pittsburgh in exchange for LHP Antonio Bastardo on December 10, 2014. Rodríguez was then acquired by Texas from Philadelphia in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations on June 13, 2017.
Duran, 22, hit .290/.374/.533 (75-for-259) with 42R, 15 doubles, 6 triples, 12HR, 48RBI, 28BB and 12SB in 67 games with High-A Hudson Valley. Over four minor league seasons with the Yankees (2017-19, ’21), he hit .262/.330/.476 (206-for-785) with 137R, 40 doubles, 16 triples, 32HR, 116RBI and 34SB in 201 games. The San Juan de la Maguana, D.R., native was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2017.
Hauver, 22, made his professional debut this season with Low-A Tampa, hitting .288/.445/.498 (66-for-229) with 48R, 17 doubles, 2 triples, 9HR, 49RBI and 64BB in 66 games. The Chandler, Ariz., native was originally selected by the Yankees in the third-round of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft out of Arizona State University.
Otto, 25, combined to go 7-3 with a 3.33 ERA (75.2IP, 60H, 28ER, 17BB, 115K, 6HR) in 13 games (12 starts) with Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. In 41 career games (32 starts), the right-hander is 14-7 with a 3.07 ERA (167.1IP, 137H, 62R/57ER, 65BB, 227K) over four minor league seasons (2017-19, ’21). The Spring, Tex., native was originally drafted by the Yankees in the fifth round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Rice University.
Smith, 23, has combined to hit .324/.448/.641 (46-for-142) with 44R, 12 doubles, 3 triples, 9HR, 24RBI, 23BB and 17SB in 39 games with Low-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley. In two minor league seasons (2019, ’21), the left-handed hitter has batted .324/.449/.569 (82-for-253) with 61R, 18 doubles, 4 triples, 12HR, 39RBI, 48BB and 23SB in 72 games. The Baton Rouge, La., native was selected by the Yankees in the second round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Louisiana State University.
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