The addition of infielder Rougned Odor, who had a crucial RBI single late in the New York Yankees’ victory against the Tampa Bay Rays, made Thairo Estrada, a longtime backup infielder once seen with an outside chance of being a regular, expendable.
And the Yankees did just that: they traded Estrada to the San Francisco Giants for cash considerations. The infielder is now seen as organizational depth, but could have more avenues to playing time while with the Giants.
The Yankees had designated Estrada for assignment on April 6, after acquiring Odor by giving up prospects Antonio Cabello and Josh Stowers. The Rangers ended up eating most of Odor’s salary obligations.
Designating Estrada for assignment cleared up a 40-man roster space for the newcomer.
The Yankees made Estrada expendable after acquiring Odor
As for Estrada, who is currently 25, his career wasn’t the same ever since he was shot in his native Venezuela in February 2018.
It’s not the biggest of sample sizes, but Estrada is a career .214/.267/.348 hitter in 61 games at the MLB level, so he has a lot to prove if he is going to make it with the Giants. He is, however, a skilled defender in the middle infield positions (shortstop and second base) and has some decent pop from the right side of the plate.
Estrada had batted just .167 with a home run and three RBI in 28 at-bats for the Yankees in the shortened 2020 season. He had a homer and a steal, but his plate discipline stats were well below average: he had a 1.9 walk rate and a 36.5 strikeout percentage.
From 2015 to 2017, Thairo Estrada had a good run offensively with some of the Yankees’ minor leagues affiliates. Between A-, A, A+ and Double A, he had four consecutive stints of a 100+ wRC+ (weighted Runs Created Plus) in those three seasons.