Rangers Trade Rougned Odor To Yankees For Two Prospects

The Texas Rangers have traded Rougned Odor to the New York Yankees.

Chris Halicke | Apr 6, 2021

The Texas Rangers have traded second baseman Rougned Odor and cash considerations to the New York Yankees in exchange for two prospects.

The Rangers designated Odor for assignment on April 1. President of baseball operations Jon Daniels said during a March 29 press conference he didn't expect find a fit regarding a trade with another club. But things, as they often do, change.

The Yankees will pay the league minimum on Odor's contract, a source tells InsideTheRangers.com. That leaves the Rangers to absorb nearly all of the $27.6 million left on Odor's contract.

The prorated amount for 2021 will be $570,500, while the 2022 figure will be determined by the new Collective Bargaining Agreement between Major League Baseball and the Players Association.

Odor is owed $12.3 million this year, another $12.3 million in 2022, and his club option for 2023 has a $3 million buyout.

In a Zoom call with the media on Tuesday, Daniels mentioned the Rangers had a chance to trade Odor to another club for more financial relief. They ultimately chose to acquire more talent over saving cash.

The Yankees are sending outfielder Josh Stowers and catcher/outfielder Antonio Cabella to the Rangers.

Stowers, 24, was originally selected in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners, and was acquired by the Yankees as part of trades that sent pitcher Sonny Gray to Cincinnati. He was ranked as a top-30 prospect by Baseball America before the 2020 season. Stowers played his college ball at the University of Louisville, where he was teammates with current Ranger Nick Solak.

Cabello, 20, is the Yankees' No. 20 prospect on Baseball America. He saw his first professional action in 2018-19, combining for a .251 batting average with 8 home runs and 40 RBI over 102 games. Cabello was previously a catcher prior to signing with the Yankees out of Venezuela, but has played exclusively as an outfielder during his professional career.

Recouping even a little bit of the money from Odor's contract is a win for the Rangers. They made the clear decision to move on from Odor, diving head-first into a commitment to their younger players.

According to Daniels, the decision was strictly a "baseball move." It also shows ownership's trust in Daniels and new executive vice president and general manager Chris Young to be willing to eat that kind of money.

This is a developing story. We will update as we gather more information.

Chris Halicke covers the Texas Rangers for InsideTheRangers.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisHalicke.
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Published Apr 6, 2021

CHRIS HALICKE