Gallo trade is official

The trade of Joey Gallo to the New York Yankees from the Texas Rangers is official. The team has announced that Joey Gallo and Joely Rodriguez have been traded to the Yankees for infielders Ezequiel Duran, Josh Smith, and Trevor Hauver and pitcher Glenn Otto. The Rangers are also sending cash to New York in the deal, reportedly paying the roughly $4 million owed to Joey and Joely the rest of the way.

We wrote about this deal and the players coming back yesterday at length, and I don’t really have anything to add other than that it underscores the shift in the Rangers philosophy from seeking potential five tool high upside guys to seeking strong hit tool players with impact hitter upside. They want guys who make loud contact and perform and are less concerned about whether they’ll stick at a premium defensive position (or even if they necessarily have a defensive position).

The consensus around baseball seems to be that the Rangers got a reasonable return for Gallo. Smith and Duran are the carrying pieces, it appears, though Otto could be in Arlington as soon as, well, this weekend.

The 40 man roster now stands at 38. There are two open spots on the active roster. Josh Sborz will be activated from the paternity list Friday, most likely, and I would wager another pitcher — be it Otto or someone on the farm — is added to the active and 40 man rosters on Friday as well.

Otto is heading to Round Rock. The three infielders are heading to Hickory, which has Jonathan Ornelas and Justin Foscue in the infield right now. I suspect we will start seeing some Ornelas in center field, and some of the others in left field or DH some.