When the Yankees traded for Gio Urshela in the summer of 2018, it barely made a ripple. Acquired as minor-league depth, Urshela never played for the Yankees that season, but re-signed with the organization on a minor-league deal after a productive two months at Scranton. Not a part of the 40-man roster and a primary third baseman who had a Rookie of the Year finalist ahead of him on the depth chart, it looked like Urshela would just be the fail safe in case of emergency in 2019.
Although that’s how Urshela’s season began, that’s not what it ended up becoming.