Blue Jays trade SS/3B Gio Urshela to New York Yankees

Urshela now moves to the Yankees organization in hopes of cracking a big league roster once again.

Though the move is likely to fly under the radar, the Blue Jays made a trade Saturday ahead of their nighttime contest against the Mariners in Seattle. The team announced that they’ve traded shortstop/third baseman Gio Urshela to the New York Yankees in exchange for cash considerations.

Conor Foley, the beat writer for the New Yankees Triple-A affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, first reported that Urshela had walked into the RailRiders’ clubhouse at PNC Field, where the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons were visiting.

It’s unsurprising that the Blue Jays have chosen to move on from Urshela. Acquired after he was designated for assignment earlier in the year by the Cleveland Indians, the 26-year-old native of Cartagena, Columbia slashed .233/.283/.326 in 46 plate appearances for the Jays spread across 19 games. 

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Urshela was the subject of some speculation of a trade after he, along with Bisons teammate Dalton Pompey, was removed from a game last week for no known reason. While it was never confirmed just why he was pulled, it definitely signaled that he was on his way out.

A versatile and talented defender, Urshela could never quite put it together at the plate, hitting a combined .225/.274/.315 in parts of three seasons with Cleveland and Toronto.

Had he remained with the organization, he would’ve faced an uphill battle given the team’s abundance of capable middle infielders that include Devon Travis, Aledmys Diaz and Brandon Drury. Top prospects Cavan Biggio, Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also play the same position(s) as Urshela.

The second trade made recently between the two AL East clubs, Urshela has been assigned to Triple-A and will serve as upper minor middle infield depth as the Yankees (68-40) continue to fight for first place in the ever complicated East.

The Blue Jays will continue their four game set against the Mariners tonight at 10:10 PM EST. Having taken the first two games of the series, the boys in blue will try and continue impressing the hoard of Blue Jays fans that have travelled to Safeco Field to support their team.