Rangers trade Rougned Odor to New York Yankees for pair of prospects

ARLINGTON — The latest in Rougned Odor fashion news: We will see how he looks in pinstripes and beardless.

The Rangers on Tuesday sent the second baseman, who had been designated for assignment last week, to the New York Yankees in exchange for a pair of prospects. They will receive outfielder Josh Stowers, a second-round pick in 2018, and outfielder-catcher Antonio Cabello.

The Rangers, however, are still responsible for almost all of the remaining portion of Odor’s contract, which could cost them a little less than $26 million. Odor is due $12 million each of the next two seasons and there is a team option for 2024, which includes a $3 million buyout.

The Yankees will pay a prorated portion of the major league minimum of $570,000 (which comes to about $555,000) for the rest of 2021. They would pay the 2022 major league minimum, which still must be negotiated under collective bargaining. If the Yankees pick up Odor’s 2024 option, the Rangers would be off the hook for the buyout.

The Rangers had two options to deal Odor, President of Baseball Operations Jon Daniels said, one that was slightly friendlier to the bottom line or the Yankees deal, which offered more talent.

“We walked through that with our [baseball operations] group and with ownership and we prioritized the talent rather than the financial aspect of it,” Daniels said. “When we made the decision to designate him before opening day, the [financial] decision had more or less been made.”

Stowers, 24, played at Louisville. He has a .268 batting average and .788 OPS in his first two professional seasons with Seattle and the Yankees. Seattle sent him to New York in a series of deals that resulted in Sonny Gray going to Cincinnati. Stowers had a poor performance in the Arizona Fall League in 2019 and did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season.

Cabello, 20, received a $1.35 million bonus upon signing out of Venezuela in 2017. He had a .251 batting average and .753 OPS in two seasons, neither above short-season Class A. He was a catcher coming out of Venezuela but has played the outfield exclusively in the Yankees system. The Rangers will give him another look behind the plate.

The Rangers now have three of the first 12 picks from the second round of the 2018 draft: Steele Walker (46th pick overall), who was acquired from the Chicago White Sox for Nomar Mazara, Stowers (54th overall) and Owen White (55th overall), their own pick.

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