The Yankees definitely rolled the dice when they pulled off a surprising trade with the Twins shortly after the MLB lockout ended. Out went longtime catcher Gary Sánchez and fan favorite third baseman Gio Urshela; in came former AL MVP Josh Donaldson, shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Ben Rortvedt. Just like that, the Yankees had a whole new look in their infield.
On Opening Day yesterday at Yankeee Stadium, Kiner-Falefa had a quiet debut and Rortvedt was injured, so Donaldson provided the heroics. He singled in the fifth, showed off some flashy defense in the field, and after the Yankees fought back multiple times to stretch the game to the 11th inning, Donaldson broke the tie with the Yankees’ first Opening Day walk-off since 1957:
Just like that, the Donaldson Yankees are now 1-0 and already have a memorable win over the Red Sox in 2022 to boot.