Trevino is on the move for the second time in his career. The Yankees landed him from the Rangers shortly after Opening Day 2022 in a deal that sent reliever Albert Abreu to Arlington. That was a win for the New York front office, as Trevino developed into a quality defensive catcher in the Bronx. Abreu, on the other hand, pitched seven times with the Rangers before they lost him on waivers.

The 2022 season has been Trevino’s best. He appeared in a career-high 115 games, hitting .248/.283/.388 through 353 plate appearances. Trevino led all catchers with 21 Defensive Runs Saved that season, earning an All-Star selection and a Gold Glove.

Trevino has opened each of the past two years as New York’s primary catcher. His playing time and offensive production have dropped, though he continues to grade very highly for his receiving skills. Trevino has only appeared in 129 games over the past two years. In 2023, that was largely the result of a ligament tear in his right wrist that necessitated season-ending surgery in July.

The 32-year-old stayed mostly heathy this past season. He missed a month between the All-Star Break and the middle of August because of a quad strain. Trevino was otherwise on the active roster but fell into a depth role. Rookie of the Year finalist Austin Wells is a superior offensive player who grades as an elite receiving catcher in his own right.

Trevino was limited to 62 starts behind the plate overall. He’d basically become a non-factor by the end of the year, as he appeared in just 14 games between his return from the injured list on August 15 and the end of the regular season. He only got two starts during the Yankees’ run to the World Series. He took 234 trips to the plate and hit .215/.288/.354 with eight home runs.

Part of the dip in playing time has been attributable to Trevino’s difficulty controlling the running game. According to Statcast, only Yasmani Grandal had a higher average pop time (throw time to second base on stolen base attempts) than Trevino’s 2.07 second mark. Opponents swiped 57 bases out of 70 attempts in his 544 1/3 innings. Trevino continues to grade exceptionally highly for his framing skills and blocking ability, so he remains a valuable defender, but the subpar arm strength has become an issue.

The Reds evidently placed a lot of value on those receiving skills. Trevino should back up Tyler Stephenson, who hit .258/.338/.444 with a career-high 19 homers this past season. Stephenson started 112 games and tallied a little more than 1000 innings. He didn’t play any first base in ’24 but has played there sporadically in prior seasons. Cincinnati could give Stephenson a few more modified rest days at first base or designated hitter if they’re comfortable with Trevino logging 70+ starts behind the dish.

Trevino has over five years of service time. MLTBR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $3.4MM salary during his last trip through the arbitration process. Taking that on pushes the team’s projected payroll to $104MM (courtesy of RosterResource). The Reds ended the ’23 campaign with a payroll around $100MM and have indicated they’re comfortable matching or exceeding that number.

Stephenson had been the only catcher on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster. They obviously needed to acquire a veteran backup, but it’s still surprising to see the Reds relinquish Cruz for one year of Trevino’s services. Cruz has been a fixture in Cincinnati’s bullpen for the last two years. He has scattershot command but elite bat-missing ability.

Cruz, a native of Puerto Rico, was drafted as an infielder back in 2007. He flamed out as a hitter and was out of affiliated ball entirely between 2016-21. Cruz converted to pitching in 2012 and continued to plug away, however, eventually catching the attention of Reds’ scouts in the independent ranks. He dominated Triple-A opponents in 2022 and earned his first major league call as a 32-year-old that September.

Typically, players who don’t reach the majors until they’re in their 30s are quickly dropped from the roster. Cruz pitched well in his late-season cameo, however, and the Reds kept him on their 40-man. He has topped 65 innings in each of the past two seasons, building from middle relief in 2023 to become one of David Bell’s more frequent leverage options in front of closer Alexis Díaz.

The bottom line results have not been great. Cruz has allowed nearly five earned runs per nine in both seasons. He owns a 4.52 ERA across 147 1/3 career innings. ERA estimators like FIP and SIERA find him significantly more interesting than the actual run prevention would suggest — a testament to his gaudy swing-and-miss numbers.

Cruz has fanned over 35% of opponents in each of the last two seasons. He carries a cumulative 36.5% strikeout rate over that stretch. Among pitchers with 100+ innings, only Josh Hader and Aroldis Chapman have posted a better mark. Spencer Strider, Kirby Yates, Garrett Crochet, Jeff Hoffman, Bryan Abreu, Paul Skenes and Tyler Glasnow round out the top 10. Cruz is similarly dominant on a per-pitch basis. His 16.7% swinging strike rate ranks fifth among that group — trailing Strider, Hader, Andrés Muñoz and Ryan Helsley.

Pitching isn’t solely about strikeouts, of course, but most pitchers who miss bats at those rates are impact arms. Cruz holds himself back to some extent by issuing too many free passes. He walked 12.2% of batters faced this year and has given out free passes to 11.4% of opponents in his career. That’s a concern, but it’s easy to see why the Yankees identified him as an upside play.

Cruz’s calling card is a low-80s splitter, which is one of the most effective pitches in the sport. Cruz used the offering a little more than 40% of the time this year. Opponents only made contact around 40% of the time they swung at it. Batters hit .116 against it. Cruz used it as the finishing pitch for 88 of his 109 strikeouts.

Exceptional as the splitter was, opponents teed off on his other two offerings — a 94 MPH four-seam fastball and a cutter that sits in the high 80s. Cruz has preferred to mix all three pitches rather than fully unleashing the splitter. Whether that’s because of his own comfort or the preference of Cincinnati’s coaching staff isn’t clear, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Yankees pushed him to lean more frequently on that pitch. New York allowed Tommy Kahnle to abandon his fastball and throw essentially all changeups for his entire playoff run, for instance.

Cruz has just over two years of big league service. He’s under club control for four seasons. The extended control window isn’t a huge factor for a pitcher who’ll turn 35 in March. It’s a boost in the short term, though, as the Yankees can plug him into the bullpen for around the league minimum salary in 2025.

Jackson, who turns 29 on Christmas, rounds out the return to backfill the catching depth. He signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati last month and will not occupy a 40-man roster spot. Jackson appeared in a career-high 58 games for the Rays last season, hitting .122 over 159 plate appearances. He’s a career .132/.224/.232 hitter over parts of five campaigns. Jackson should get a Spring Training invite, where he can compete with 29-year-old J.C. Escarra — who is on the 40-man roster but hasn’t appeared in the majors — for the backup job behind Wells.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported that Trevino was being traded to Cincinnati. The Post’s Joel Sherman was first with the entire trade. Images courtesy of Imagn.

Williams has been one of the game’s most dominant relievers since making his debut. The 2020 National League Rookie of the Year ranks in the top-three of all big league pitchers (min. 200 innings) in both ERA (1.83, second) and strikeout rate (39.4%, third) since coming into the league.

Detractors might point to Williams surrendering what was effectively a season-ending home run to Pete Alonso against the Mets in the NLDS, but it’s rare for the righty to falter in that manner. Since 2020, his first full big league season, no pitcher in baseball has a higher win probability added than Williams. He’s been placed into 138 save/hold situations in his career and only blown the opportunity 10 times. Broadly speaking, Williams has done his best work in high-leverage spots, that lasting memory from the ’24 postseason notwithstanding.

A pitcher with Williams’ stuff and track record should have the opportunity to command one of the largest deals ever for a reliever next winter — provided he maintains that standard in his first season with the Yankees. Williams will pitch nearly all of this season at 30 years of age, turning 31 in September. Age and perhaps some health questions — he missed three months in 2024 with multiple stress fractures in his back — might keep him from quite reaching the same heights that Edwin Diaz (five years, $102MM) and his former teammate Hader (five years, $95MM) reached in free agency. Diaz was 29 in the first year of his contract. Hader was 30.

Still, Williams could reasonably expect to command at least four years, if not five, and he’d be able to push into the rarefied air of $16-20MM average annual values for relievers that have only been attainable for the game’s truly elite stoppers over the past few years. Diaz, Hader, Wade Davis, Liam Hendriks, Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman are the only relievers to command multi-year deals with AAVs of $16MM or more.

Whether the two sides will actually get into serious negotiations is an open question, but Williams’ ostensible openness is of some note. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $7.7MM in his final arbitration this coming season, and one would presume he and his reps at Klutch Sports are eyeing an annual salary of $18MM or more for his free agent seasons. It’d be a costly endeavor, but the Yankees have been willing to make huge commitments to the bullpen in the past (e.g. Chapman, Zack Britton).

Elsewhere in the Yankee bullpen is another potentially dominant arm: righty Jonathan Loaisiga. The Yanks more quietly re-signed the Nicaraguan-born righty this month. He’s currently eight months removed from an internal brace procedure to repair a UCL tear in his right elbow. Pitching coach Matt Blake told reporters today, including Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, that the aim is for Loaisiga to be back in the Yankees’ big league bullpen by late April or early May.

The 30-year-old Loaisiga has only reached 50 innings in one big league season but has been excellent when healthy enough to take the ball. Dating back to 2020, the oft-injured righty sports a 2.98 ERA with a below-average 20.3% strikeout rate but a strong 6.5% walk rate and an elite 58% ground-ball rate. Since largely shelving his four-seamer in favor of a sinker, Loaisiga has averaged a blazing 98.1 mph on that sinker, also employing a changeup to help keep lefties off balance. It seems the current expectation is for Loaisiga to open the season on the injured list, but it may not be a particularly lengthy stay, based on the current trajectory of his rehab.

Of course, the headline-grabbing news of the week in the Bronx — beyond finalizing their eight-year deal with Fried and introducing him at a press conference today — was the Yankees’ completion of a trade to bring Bellinger to the Bronx. Rumors of talks between the Yankees and Cubs were plentiful, particularly once Soto signed with the Mets. The two teams finally lined up on a deal yesterday afternoon.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweeted not long after the trade that the Yankees had informed Bellinger he’ll be utilized in center field. General manager Brian Cashman pushed back on that today following the Fried presser (link via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com), stating that there’s no firm decision on Bellinger’s defensive home. He could play any of center field, left field or first base for the Yankees next season, and that decision will be contingent on what the Yankees are able to accomplish throughout the remainder of the offseason. FOX Sports’ Deesha Thosar adds that manager Aaron Boone spoke to Bellinger last night, and Bellinger informed his new skipper he’s open to playing wherever needed.

That flexibility, plus the flexibility provided by Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s ability to play multiple spots, leaves Cashman a vast array of possibilities for the remainder of the offseason. The Yankees are reportedly intrigued by several free agent first basemen but could look to the outfield market and also have other areas of depth from which they could trade. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com suggests that catcher Jose Trevino, for instance, could find himself on the trade block in the weeks ahead.

There’s been some speculation that the Yankees could deal from their catching depth this winter, and they’ve already moved one of the five catchers they had on their 40-man roster, sending Carlos Narvaez to the Red Sox for a minor league pitcher and some international bonus pool space. With Austin Wells emerging as the starter behind the plate and backstops J.C. Escarra and Jesus Rodriguez joining Trevino on the 40-man roster, there’s still a good bit of depth. (That doesn’t even include catcher/first baseman Ben Rice, or catching prospect Rafael Flores, who’s not on the 40-man but just had a big season in Double-A.)

To be clear, there’s no indication that Trevino is expressly being shopped. But catching depth is always at a premium around the league, and this offseason’s market is particularly thin. The Yankees are a surefire luxury payor, and while Trevino’s projected $3.4MM salary (again, via Swartz) isn’t excessive, moving him could cut the Yankees’ spending by around $7MM after accounting for the CBT.

The 32-year-old Trevino hit just .215/.288/.354 in 234 plate appearances last year but graded out as a plus-plus defender. The 2022 Platinum Glove winner is a free agent after the season, and with a wealth of young catching options in Wells, Escarra, Rodriguez and Flores, it’d be understandable if the Yanks leveraged that depth by moving Trevino for some bullpen help or depth in another area of need.

As per the terms of the contract extension Refsnyder signed in June 2023, the Sox hold a $2MM club option ($150K) on his services for 2025.  This option looks like a lock to be exercised if Refsnyder wishes to keep playing, as he has an excellent .298/.384/.472 slash line over 251 plate appearances in part-time duty for the Red Sox this season.  Still, Refsnyder is eager to spend more time with his family, and is perhaps keen to start working towards his longer-term goal of working in a front office.

Other items from around the AL East…

• Bue Jays manager John Schneider gave MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson and other reporters an update on Bo Bichette, noting that the shortstop has started to increase baseball activities while working out at the Jays’ spring training facility in Dunedin.  A timeline isn’t yet in place this early in Bichette’s recovery from a right calf strain, as the club will monitor his progress in the coming days or weeks before deciding on a possible rehab assignment.   Bichette suffered the calf strain on July 19 in Toronto’s 5-4 loss to the Tigers, continuing an all-around disastrous season that has seen Bichette bat only .223/.276/.321 over 330 plate appearances.  The former All-Star’s struggles are one of several reasons why the Blue Jays are out of the playoff race, and if Bichette isn’t showing progress in relatively short order, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Jays just shut him down for the remainder of the season.
• 2024 is the last guaranteed season of the six-year, $24MM extension Brandon Lowe signed with the Rays prior to Opening Day 2019, but Tampa still has a pair of club options ($10.5MM with a $1MM buyout for 2025, $11.5MM for 2026 with a $500K buyout) covering Lowe’s immediate future.  “Whether they pick up the option or they don’t, I feel like I’m putting myself in a good position to still be on a team next year,” Lowe told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, but Lowe noted that playing with the Rays “is all I know.  I like it here.  My friends are here.  We have a house here.  It’s comfortable.  I don’t know anything else.  I know this.”  Given how the Rays dealt a number of higher-priced veterans at the deadline, Topkin figures that Lowe’s continued presence on the roster means that the team will exercise the 2025 option and keep Lowe in Tampa Bay for an eighth season.  Lowe is more than doing his part at the plate to sway the Rays’ mind, as he is hitting .248/.330/.488 with 14 homers over 282 PA.
• Danny Coulombe is “on track” in his rehab process and is aiming to return in late September, the Orioles left-hander told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko.  Coulombe is on the 60-day IL after undergoing surgery in June to remove bone spurs from his left elbow.  While he is still a few weeks away from getting onto a mound, Coulombe is up to throwing from 90 feet in games of catch.  The Orioles’ bullpen has struggled badly in August, leaving Baltimore in even greater need for whatever the ace setup man can provide whenever he is able to return to action.
• The Yankees activated catcher Jose Trevino from the 10-day injured list on Friday, and Carlos Narvaez was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.  Yesterday’s game marked Trevino’s first action since a left quad strain forced him out of the Yankees’ 4-1 win over the Orioles on July 12.  Trevino figures to resume his catching platoon with Austin Wells, though Wells’ hot bat over the last month might have earned him a larger share of the playing time.

July 13: Catcher Jose Trevino has been placed on the Yankees’ 10-day injured list due to a left quad strain, the team announced prior to today’s game.  Carlos Narvaez was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move, and will now share catching duties with Austin Wells until Trevino recovers.

The injury occurred late in Friday’s 4-1 Yankees win over the Orioles, when Trevino slid home while scoring a run in the ninth inning.  Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Greg Joyce of the New York Post) today that a timeline isn’t yet known for Trevino’s return, as the catcher has returned to New York to undergo testing.

The lefty-righty platoon of Trevino and Wells have split the playing time almost as evenly as possible this season, as both players entered Saturday with exactly 59 games and 186 plate appearances apiece.  Trevino has been the slightly more productive of the two at the plate, with eight homers and a .244/.303/.411 slash line to Wells’ five home runs and .219/.312/.369 slash.

This translates to a 103 wRC+ for Trevino and a 97 wRC+ for Wells, and while Wells has been a strong defender in his own right, Trevino has continued to post his typical elite framing and blocking numbers.  While the Yankees might’ve preferred to see a former top-100 prospect like Wells have a bigger breakout in his first full Major League season, Trevino’s steady veteran presence and glovework has been a big boost to the team.

More will be known about Trevino’s recovery timeline once tests are complete, but if he is going to miss an extended period of time, it’ll put more pressure on Wells and rookie Narvaez to keep things steady at the catching position.  (Narvaez was briefly called up to the 26-man roster earlier this season but didn’t receive any in-game action, so he has yet to make his MLB debut.)  Ben Rice could be an option for some catching duty, though Rice has only caught one inning in his own rookie season, and New York will need him more pressingly at first base while Anthony Rizzo is out.  Depending on how long Trevino is out, the Yankees might now consider adding some veteran catching depth at the trade deadline, or perhaps sign an experienced backup to play ahead of Narvaez.

Effross, 30, once looked like a nice pickup for the Yankees. The sidearmer made his debut in the majors with the Cubs in 2021 and was flipped to the Yankees at the 2022 deadline, with Hayden Wesneski going the other way. Between the two clubs, Effross made 74 appearances over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, allowing just 2.78 earned runs per nine innings. He struck out 27.9% of batters faced, walked just 5.6% of them and got grounders on 45.1% of balls in play. He even looked to be moving towards a closer’s role, earning four saves and 19 holds in that time.

But he’s been on the shelf since late 2022 and now seems to be staying there. He landed on the injured list in August of 2022 due to a shoulder strain. In October of that year, it was announced that he would require Tommy John surgery, wiping out his entire 2023 season. Now this back surgery is going to prevent him from pitching in the first half of the 2024 campaign.

It’s an unfortunate series of events for a pitcher who was on such a positive trajectory. Assuming he is able to return at some point this summer, he’ll be looking to get back on track after a layoff of almost two full years. The Yanks will likely place him on the 60-day injured list once they need a roster spot. He’s slated to qualify for arbitration for the first time after this year and is on pace for free agency after 2027.

Without Effross, the high-leverage roles in the Yankee bullpen will go to Clay Holmes, Jonathan Loáisiga, Tommy Kahnle and Caleb Ferguson. Since the surgery happened months ago, the club has surely been aware of it and it shouldn’t suddenly lead to a change in their roster-building plans. But if they do decide to add to the relief mix, guys like Ryne Stanek, Brad Boxberger, Brad Hand and Aaron Loup are still available in free agency.

Trevino, 31, is projected to form part of the club’s catching duo alongside Austin Wells. He only played 55 games in 2023 due to wrist surgery but will be looking to get back on track to the form he showed in 2022. He played 115 games that year with roughly average offense for a catcher but his superlative defense led to him being valued as worth 3.8 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs,.

A whopping 11 players saw at least a little time at second base for the 2023 Red Sox, but this revolving door combined for 0.0 bWAR, as only three teams got less production from their second basemen.  Enmanuel Valdez, Pablo Reyes, Bobby Dalbec, or (when he isn’t in center field) Ceddanne Rafaela all look like the top internal candidates for the keystone heading into the offseason, but Boston would clearly like to better solidify the position.  With a somewhat thin free agent class of midfielders available, it isn’t surprising that Breslow would prefer to bring in a higher-caliber upgrade in trade talks.

More from around the AL East…

• Former first overall pick Jackson Holliday has been nothing but impressive over his two pro seasons, to the point that Orioles GM Mike Elias said it is “a very strong possibility” that Holliday could be on Baltimore’s Opening Day roster.  “I don’t want to put the cart before the horse, but he had an historic first full season in the minors….He’s going to be treated in this major league camp not like a prospect where we’re kind of having fun and having him in camp for the experience of it, but like a guy trying to make the team,” Elias told Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com and other reporters.  Holliday has played mostly shortstop with some second-base time in the minors, and Elias said the 20-year-old will continue at those two positions in Spring Training.  Often seen as the Orioles’ shortstop of the future, Holliday’s exact position isn’t yet known due to the sheer glut of talent Baltimore has in the pipeline and on the MLB roster, particularly in the infield.  To this end, Elias isn’t concerned about finding playing time for everyone or keeping Holliday at a set position, since defensive versatility is “part of baseball now and it provides a lot of value.  There’s very, very, very, few players that just stand in the same spot and nowhere else.”
• Yankees manager Aaron Boone gave reporters (including The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner and Brendan Kuty) updates on the offseason progress of some players plagued by injuries in 2023.  Nestor Cortes was limited to 63 1/3 innings due to two rotator cuff strains, but Boone said the southpaw has now started a throwing program.  Anthony Rizzo is expected to have a normal offseason program after being cleared of post-concussion syndrome, hopefully concluding a bizarre sequence of events that saw Rizzo keep playing for more than two months after suffering an apparent concussion in late May.  Rizzo was placed on the IL in early August and then shut down for the season at the start of September, though Boone said that the first baseman was “probably game-ready and ready to go” by the end of the season.  Jose Trevino’s season was ended by wrist surgery in July but the catcher is expected to be set for the start of Spring Training.

With Trevino progressing well in his rehab, the Yankees are set to have four catchers competing for playing time next season. Trevino will likely return to his regular role, and Wells played ably enough to merit a spot on the Opening Day roster. That leaves Higashioka and Rortvedt on the outside looking in. Higashioka has been a capable backup in New York for several years, but he is a finished product and a known quantity. Rortvedt, meanwhile, will be 26 next season, and he hasn’t shown an ability to hit at the MLB level.

Therefore, it comes as little surprise that the Yankees could look to deal either or both of Higashioka and Rortvedt this offseason. According to Andy Martino of SNY, the team is “signaling” to other clubs that both catchers are available in a trade.

Higashioka is the longest-tenured player on the Yankees, having joined the organization in 2008 and played for the club in every MLB season since 2017. The 33-year-old has earned more regular playing time over the past two years, appearing in 175 games and starting 143 behind the dish. While his bat is below average, even for a catcher, his terrific defense makes up for his offensive shortcomings. The metrics from Baseball Savant, FanGraphs, and Baseball Prospectus all agree that he is an excellent pitch framer, saving several runs with his glove in each of the past three seasons.

The veteran is eligible for his final year of arbitration this winter and is projected to earn $2.3MM. That’s hardly more than a drop in the bucket for the Yankees, but still, they might try to trade him before the non-tender deadline, to avoid making a decision about tendering him a contract for next season. He would be a good fit for a team in search of a veteran stopgap to fill in behind the plate until a top prospect is ready to take his place. The White Sox, who have already expressed interest in trading for a veteran catcher (namely Salvador Perez), could be a match.

Rortvedt made his debut for the Yankees this past May, after coming over from the Twins last March as part of the deal that brought Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa to New York in exchange for Gary Sánchez and Gio Urshela. While the Yankees intended for him to compete for playing time with Higashioka and Trevino, he spent the first four months of the 2022 season on the injured list before he was optioned to Triple-A without having played a game. The 2023 campaign marked his third and final option year, and thus, he cannot be sent to the minors next season without being designated for assignment and placed on outright waivers.

Like Higashioka, Rortvedt has demonstrated an aptitude for pitch framing, but unfortunately, his bat has been nonexistent at the big league level. In 171 plate appearances across 2021 and ’23, he has hit just .146 with seven extra-base knocks, good for a career 38 wRC+. The offensive bar is low for backup catchers, but he’ll need to hit more if he wants to stick around in the majors. He would fit in best as a backup on a rebuilding club that can afford to give him a chance to prove himself, despite his substandard offensive production so far. The Mets will need a backup catcher if they choose to move on from Omar Narváez, as will the Tigers if they don’t exercise their option on Carson Kelly.

Martino also mentions that trading Trevino or Wells isn’t off the table for the Yankees, although it’s much more likely they deal Higashioka or Rortvedt instead. Wells would net the most valuable return, while the team could move on from Trevino if they think Wells is ready for a full-time role.

• The Angels selected outfielder Jordyn Adams onto the big league roster while transferring Jo Adell and Sam Bachman to the 60-day injured list. The 17th overall pick in the 2018 draft, Adams is set for his major league debut. The 23-year-old outfielder is hitting .264/.351/.466 through 389 plate appearances with Triple-A Salt Lake. Strikeout issues have knocked down his former top prospect stock, but he’s capable of playing center field and has stolen 37 bases in 42 attempts this year.
• The Pirates selected infielder Vinny Capra. Pittsburgh acquired the 27-year-old for catcher Tyler Heineman in a minor swap with the Blue Jays at the end of April. His big league experience consists of eight games with Toronto last season. The right-handed hitter owns a massive .350/.457/.485 showing with more walks than strikeouts over 34 games at Triple-A Indianapolis for the Bucs.
• The Mets selected Rafael Ortega. Signed to a minor league deal in mid-June, the lefty-hitting outfielder returns to the big leagues for a seventh season. Ortega hit .265/.344/.408 for the Cubs between 2021-22. He owns a .228/.352/.388 line between two Triple-A affiliates this season. The 32-year-old will be eligible for arbitration after the season if he finished the year on the MLB roster.

Injured List Transactions

• Rockies reinstated Tyler Kinley from 60-day IL
• Yankees transferred Jose Trevino to 60-day IL
• Blue Jays reinstated Hyun Jin Ryu from 60-day IL, transferred Otto Lopez to 60-day IL

Trevino, 30, is having a poor season offensively, with the wrist issue perhaps explaining why. He hit .248/.283/.388 last year but has dipped to a line of .210/.257/.312 here in 2023, that latter line amounting to a wRC+ of 58. In terms of his glovework, he’s not on pace to match last year’s elite 21 Defensive Runs Saved, but he still has 6 DRS this year, putting him in the top 10 among all catchers in the league. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus give him strong marks for his framing, while Statcast considers him an above-average strong blocker.

Trevino may not be a star player but he’s a solid defensive option and was decent at the plate last year. Frustrating injury absences have been a key storyline for the Yanks this year. The most prominent example is Aaron Judge but they’ve also seen Harrison Bader, Carlos Rodón, Frankie Montas, Nestor Cortes, Josh Donaldson and many others miss time. That’s part of the reason why the club is having a disappointing summer, having slipped to 50-47 and four games back of a playoff spot.

The club may now have to make some difficult decisions about how aggressively to approach the deadline, which is on August 1. FanGraphs currently pegs their playoff odds at 28.3%, certainly not a hopeless situation but definitely a challenging one. Catching upgrades are generally tricky during a season, as a new backstop would have to learn the entire pitching staff on the fly. But if the Yanks want to add for a postseason push, it might be something to look into. They might have some competition within the division, as the Rays lost Francisco Mejía to a knee sprain earlier today.

For now, the Yanks will proceed with Rortvedt and Kyle Higashioka, the only two other backstops on the 40-man roster. Rortvedt has dealt with his own injury issues in recent years, getting into just 48 minor league games last year and then 38 contests so far this year between the majors and minors.

In terms of non-roster depth, the club has promoted Austin Wells to Triple-A, per Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune. Wells was the Yankees’ first-round draft pick from 2020 and was recently ranked their #3 prospect by Baseball America. He had been hitting .237/.327/.443 in Double-A prior to the promotion.

8:20pm: The Yankees placed center fielder Harrison Bader on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain before this evening’s game in Seattle. New York also optioned catcher Ben Rortvedt to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Fellow backstop Jose Trevino has been activated from his own IL stint, while Franchy Cordero was recalled to take Bader’s spot in the outfield.

Bader’s IL placement comes as little surprise. Manager Aaron Boone acknowledged it was a possibility this morning after Bader had left last night’s game. He underwent an MRI this morning. It’s not clear how significant the strain is or how long the Yankees expect him to be sidelined, but he’ll be out for at least a week and a half.

It’s the second time this year in which Bader has landed on the shelf. He missed the first month of the season with an oblique strain. Since returning, he’s been one of New York’s best players. Bader is hitting .267/.295/.511 with six homers and stolen bases apiece in 26 games. He’s paired that with characteristically excellent defense over his 205 1/3 innings of center field work. When healthy, Bader has shown the ability to be a very productive two-way outfielder. He’s unfortunately been no stranger to the IL, though, as he’s yet to surpass 427 MLB plate appearances in a season.

That combination of productivity but a checkered injury history will make Bader an interesting free agent case next winter. Alongside Cody Bellinger and the older Kevin Kiermaier, he’s slated to top the center field class. His market will obviously be determined in large part by how quickly he makes his return and his form down the stretch.

Aaron Judge got the bulk of the center field work last time Bader was on the shelf. Greg Allen, who wasn’t on the roster last month, is getting the nod there tonight. Judge is in right field with Isiah Kiner-Falefa manning left against Seattle righty Logan Gilbert.

The club can take a couple of days to decide since IL stints can be backdated by three days, provided that the player hasn’t participated in those intervening games. The Yanks can give Bader some time to see how his hamstring feels and then place him on the IL if it doesn’t improve. Of course, taking that path means playing shorthanded for a few days, but it could possibly allow them to avoid putting Bader on the shelf if his health improves.

Injuries have become a frequent thread in Bader’s career, as he’s spent some time on the IL in each full season from 2019 to the present. He played 103 games in 2021 and 86 last year, then started the 2023 season on the injured list due to an oblique strain. He eventually returned and has been playing very well of late, hitting .267/.295/.511 through 26 games while stealing six bases and providing quality glovework. However, he’s now at risk of having that production put on hold yet again, depending on how things develop in the coming days. Whether he goes on the IL or not, the club will have to fill center field in his absence, with playing time potentially going to Aaron Judge, Isiah Kiner-Falefa or Greg Allen.

Elsewhere on the roster, catcher Jose Trevino seems ready for a fairly quick return. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com relays word from Boone that the backstop could be activated during the club’s current series against the Mariners, which runs through Wednesday. He landed on the 10-day injured list May 18 with a hamstring strain, so it looks like his stint could wind up being just over the minimum.

The glove-first catcher led the league in Defensive Runs Saved last year with 21 and also had the best framing marks in the majors according to FanGraphs. He wasn’t quite at the same pace this year but was still above-average before straining his hamstring. Once he’s able to return, it could mean that Ben Rortvedt gets optioned back to the minors. He has done a good job filling in for Trevino, hitting .286/.444/.429 but in a small sample of nine plate appearances.

Lefty Carlos Rodón is also on track to return to the team, though his return won’t be as imminent as Trevino. He threw a 20-pitch bullpen session at high intensity, per Hoch, and will soon throw another bullpen before moving on to live hitters. Signed to a six-year, $162MM deal this offseason, the southpaw has yet to make his Yankee debut after suffering a forearm strain in the spring and then dealing with back problems.

With both Rodón and Frankie Montas having been absent all season so far, it’s opened some rotation work for other hurlers like Domingo Germán, Clarke Schmidt, Jhony Brito and Randy Vásquez. Germán also had to miss some time due to his 10-game sticky stuff suspension, though he has now served that and returned yesterday. That shuffling of arms has left the club’s rotation ERA at 4.38 for the year, placing them 15th out of the 30 clubs in the league. Rodón has a 2.67 ERA dating back to the start of the 2021 season and will undoubtedly provide the club with a boost once healthy, but he still has a long road ahead of him in building back up to a full starter’s workload, since he’s effectively just starting his delayed spring ramp-up now.

There are some other reinforcements that appear to be closer at hand, as the Double-A Somerset Patriots announced (Twitter links) that third baseman Josh Donaldson, outfielder/designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton and right-hander Tommy Kahnle are all joining that club for rehab work tonight. Donaldson and Kahnle were already rehabbing with other affiliates but this will be Stanton’s first game action in a while. He was out to a strong .269/.296/.558 start before suffering a hamstring strain about six weeks ago. He’s always been an excellent hitter but health has been a frequent concern lately, as he’s been on the IL in each season since 2018.

Trevino, 30, had spent the 2018-2021 seasons as a part-time catcher with the Rangers before the Yankees acquired him going into 2022. He already had a reputation as a glove-first backstop, tallying eight Defensive Runs Saved with Texas in 2021. He took that part of his game to new heights with the Yanks last year, accruing 21 DRS for the season, winning a Gold Glove and a Fielding Bible award. He also hit 11 home runs and slashed .248/.283/.388 for a wRC+ of 91.

He hasn’t quite been able to maintain that pace so far this year, as he’s hitting just .219/.265/.333 and his defense has been around league average. Nonetheless, it’s a frustrating development for the Yankees, for whom injuries have become an ongoing concern. Trevino joins Josh Donaldson, Oswald Peraza, Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Rodon, Luis Severino, Frankie Montas, Luis Gil, Scott Effross, Ian Hamilton, Tommy Kahnle, Jonathan Loáisiga and Lou Trivino, who are all currently on the injured list, while they’ve also seen Aaron Judge and Harrison Bader miss some time. Despite all of those absences, the club is still hanging tough with a 25-20 record so far, but continually shuffling the deck chairs could become a growing concern over a long season unless the health situation improves.

As for Rortvedt, he was also acquired prior to the 2022 season, coming over from the Twins alongside Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, but has yet to appear in a game as a Yankee mostly due to injuries. He suffered an oblique injury in the spring of 2022 then underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in April. He was eventually activated in August but was optioned to the minors. He did get recalled to the big league club in September but was optioned three days later without getting into a game. This year, Rortvedt underwent surgery in February on an aneurysm near the posterior in his left shoulder that was affecting his circulation. He began the year on the injured list and was activated a week ago but optioned to the minors again.

Given all of those hurdles, a running joke has developed among some Yankee fans that Rortvedt doesn’t even exist, but it now seems inevitable he will make his team debut at some point in the near future. He’ll likely be in the backup role in support of Kyle Higashioka, who had been backing up Trevino until now. Rortvedt has 39 games of MLB experience, which came with the Twins back 2021. He hit just .169/.229/.281 but earned 5 DRS in that short time and has positive framing metrics.

The Yankees also announced that Kahnle will begin a rehab assignment today with Single-A Tampa. The 33-year-old was signed in the offseason to a two-year, $11.5MM deal but has been on the IL all year so far due to biceps tendinitis. He was eventually transferred to the 60-day IL, meaning he won’t be eligible to return until next week but will likely need some time to get into game shape anyway. He has a career 3.78 ERA and 29.3% strikeout rate but has only thrown 13 2/3 innings since the end of 2019 due to various injuries.

Kiner-Falefa doesn’t offer much with the bat, as demonstrated by his career 82 wRC+, indicating he’s been roughly 18% worse than league average for his career. Despite that, he’s still been a valuable player throughout his career due to his defense. In the infield, he’s won a Gold Glove at third base while also playing a quality shortstop and the occasional second base. He even caught 586 innings for the Rangers early in his career and now could add center field to his positional versatility.

For a Yankees team already utilizing versatile players such as DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera, Kiner-Falefa seems poised to provide yet another versatile bench piece in the Bronx, allowing manager Aaron Boone to mix and match as he sees fit in his infield. The Yankees lost center fielder Harrison Bader to an oblique strain last week. It’s generally expected that Aaron Judge will slide over from right field until Bader returns, but Kiner-Falefa taking well to center field would give Boone some additional flexibility if he wanted to slide Judge back to the corner on certain days.

More from the Yankees…

• Boone tells reporters, including Jon Heyman of the New York Post, that Volpe is “definitely in the mix” to be the starting shortstop this season. Volpe, a consensus top 15 prospect in the game, is regarded as the best hitter of the options available to the Yankees at shortstop, and a capable defender (though fellow youngster Peraza grades out better defensively at the position). Volpe split last season between the top two minor league levels, hitting .249/.342/.460 with 21 home runs in 132 games. He only played 22 of those contests at the Triple-A level, while Peraza got into 99 Triple-A contests before playing in his first 18 MLB games.
• Boone tells reporters, including Hoch, that catcher Jose Trevino has been out of action with a right wrist sprain recently. Boone notes that while Trevino is expected to resume play sometime this week, an injection is still possible to speed up his recovery. Regardless, Boone says Trevino is expected to be ready for Opening Day. Trevino was a breakout player for the Yankees in 2022, making an All Star appearance and winning a Gold Glove while playing in 115 games as the primary catcher in the Bronx. In the event that Trevino ends up missing time, Kyle Higashioka figures to be in line for more work behind the plate.

Five teams had multiple winners, with the AL Central-winning Guardians leading the pack with four honorees. Cleveland ranked fourth in the majors (third in the American League) in turning balls in play into outs, with opponents managing a .274 batting average on balls in play against them. That excellent defensive group was an underrated part of the quality run prevention unit that helped Cleveland to a surprising playoff berth.

Here are the full list of winners:

American League

Pitcher: Shane Bieber (Guardians), 1st career selection

Other finalists: José Berríos (Blue Jays), Jameson Taillon (Yankees)

Catcher: Jose Trevino (Yankees), 1st career selection

Other finalists: Sean Murphy (Athletics), Cal Raleigh (Mariners)

First Base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays), 1st career selection

Other finalists: Luis Arraez (Twins), Anthony Rizzo (Yankees)

Second Base: Andrés Giménez (Guardians), 1st career selection

Other finalists: Jonathan Schoop (Tigers), Marcus Semien (Rangers)

Third Base: Ramón Urías (Orioles), 1st career selection

Other finalists: Matt Chapman (Blue Jays), José Ramírez (Guardians)

Shortstop: Jeremy Peña (Astros), 1st career selection

Other finalists: Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox), Carlos Correa (Twins)

Left Field: Steven Kwan (Guardians), 1st career selection

Other finalists: Andrew Benintendi (Royals/Yankees), Brandon Marsh (Angels/Phillies)

Center Field: Myles Straw (Guardians), 1st career selection

Other finalists: Cedric Mullins (Orioles), Michael A. Taylor (Royals)

Right Field: Kyle Tucker (Astros), 1st career selection

Other finalists: Jackie Bradley Jr. (Red Sox/Blue Jays), Max Kepler (Twins)

Utility: DJ LeMahieu (Yankees), 4th career selection

Other finalists: Whit Merrifield (Royals/Blue Jays), Luis Rengifo (Angels)

National League

Pitcher: Max Fried (Braves), 3rd career selection/3rd consecutive win

Other finalists: Tyler Anderson (Dodgers), Corbin Burnes (Brewers)

Catcher: J.T. Realmuto (Phillies), 2nd career selection

Other finalists: Travis d’Arnaud (Braves), Tomás Nido (Mets)

First Base: Christian Walker (Diamondbacks), 1st career selection

Other finalists: Paul Goldschmidt (Cardinals), Matt Olson (Braves)

Second Base: Brendan Rodgers (Rockies), 1st career selection

Other finalists: Jake Cronenworth (Padres), Tommy Edman (Cardinals)

Third Base: Nolan Arenado (Cardinals), 10th career selection/10th consecutive win

Other finalists: Ke’Bryan Hayes (Pirates), Ryan McMahon (Rockies)

Shortstop: Dansby Swanson (Braves), 1st career selection

Other finalists: Ha-Seong Kim (Padres), Miguel Rojas (Marlins)

Left Field: Ian Happ (Cubs), 1st career selection

Other finalists: David Peralta (Diamondbacks/Rays), Christian Yelich (Brewers)

Center Field: Trent Grisham (Padres), 2nd career selection

Other finalists: Víctor Robles (Nationals), Alek Thomas (Diamondbacks)

Right Field: Mookie Betts (Dodgers), 6th career selection

Other finalists: Juan Soto (Nationals/Padres), Daulton Varsho (Diamondbacks)

Utility: Brendan Donovan (Cardinals), 1st career selection

Other finalists: Tommy Edman (Cardinals), Daulton Varsho (Diamondbacks)

The deal represents the latest shuffle in the Yankees’ catching situation, after Gary Sanchez was dealt to the Twins as part of the blockbuster deal that brought Josh Donaldson, Ben Rortvedt, and (Trevino’s former Texas teammate) Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Bronx.  The initial plan seemed to be a defense-first platoon of Rortvedt and Kyle Higashioka, though Rortvedt has yet to play in any Spring Training games due to an oblique strain.  With Rortvedt not expected to begin the season on the active roster, the Yankees instead now turn to a more experienced big leaguer in Trevino, who has 156 MLB games played to Rortvedt’s 39.

Trevino and Higashioka are both right-handed hitters, making for more of an imperfect platoon fit than the Higashioka/Rortvedt combo, yet the first priority still seems to be defense considering Trevino’s lack of offensive pop.  Over his 516 career plate appearances with the Rangers, Trevino has batted only .245/.270/.364.  Framing-wise, Statcast considered Trevino to be among the best in baseball last season.

Today’s trade marks the third notable swap between the Yankees and Rangers in less than a year, following last season’s deals that saw Texas sent Joey Gallo and Rougned Odor to New York.  It’s probably safe to assume that the two teams discussed Trevino, Abreu, or Ahlstrom at some point during those many negotiations before things finally lined up due to changing roster needs.

For the Rangers, the acquisition of Mitch Garver made Trevino expendable, as Jonah Heim now takes over as the backup catcher.  Meibrys Viloria and Yohel Pozo are also in camp on minor league deals, and top prospect Sam Huff is still in the mix at catcher, even though he played only at first base after returning from knee surgery early last season.

It wasn’t long ago that Abreu was garnering attention on top-100 prospect lists, except injuries and control problems hampered his progress up the minor league ladder.  Abreu has a 3.77 ERA, 24.2% strikeout rate, and an 11.26% walk rate over 455 2/3 innings in the minors, and he started 87 of his 115 games.  In the majors, Abreu didn’t do much to retain a foothold in the Yankees’ bullpen, posting a 5.68 ERA and 12.6% walk rate in 38 innings as a big leaguer.

Abreu is out of minor league options, thus making him something of an expendable piece for the Yankees.  The Rangers will replace Trevino with Abreu on their 40-man roster and see if the righty can get a fresh start working out of the Texas relief corps.

Ahlstrom was selected in the seventh round of the 2021 draft, and the former Oregon Duck has yet to officially begin his pro career.  Baseball America’s pre-draft scouting report described the southpaw as “a fiery presence on the mound,” with the ability to consistently throw each of his three pitches (fastball, curve, changeup) for strikes.  The latter two pitches are only graded as average, however, and Ahlstrom’s fastball generally clocked in the 88-89mph range, topping out at 92mph.