The New York Yankees didn’t add the big free agent shortstop that everyone wanted. Instead, Cashman opted for a more pragmatic approach, if you will. The team retained its nucleus resigning Anthony Rizzo to a two-year deal and making a couple of trades with the Minnesota Twins and San Diego Padres.
Gone were Luke Voit, Gio Urshela, and Gary Sánchez from the major league lineup. In came Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa via trade, and also the return of Aaron Hicks following a year out with injury. These moves were made with the mindset of a deeper lineup and better defense in key spots, most importantly catcher, but it shouldn’t go unnoticed that Boone stated he felt Donaldson gave the Yanks an upgrade on both sides of the ball.