The New York Yankees and Texas Rangers made a trade on Saturday that sends catcher Jose Trevino to New York in exchange for pitchers Albert Abreu and Robert Ahlstrom.
The New York Yankees today announced that they have acquired C Jose Trevino from the Texas Rangers in exchange for RHP Albert Abreu and LHP Robert Ahlstrom.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 2, 2022
The Rangers — who turned heads with additions early in the offseason — already had catching depth with Mitch Garver and Jonah Heim in place, and they add a couple of upside arms in Abreu and Ahlstrom.
Abreu ranked 31st on the Baseball America Top 40 Yankees prospects. Ahlstrom didn't make the Top 40, but was the top unranked LHP on the Yankees depth chart.https://t.co/Fn93RyXl4a https://t.co/Gz5tFrk7kq
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) April 2, 2022
Also, Ahlstrom ranked 299th on the BA Top 500 Draft Prospects in 2021. He was the Yankees' 7th round pick.
Full draft report for Ahlstrom here:https://t.co/qhrRJHeSRA https://t.co/yfZtszJXtc
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) April 2, 2022
For the Yankees, they get a backstop to really upgrade their catching depth- and particularly upgrade the defense.
Ben Rortvedt (oblique injury) will begin the season on the Injured list, so the championship-hopeful Yankees needed some depth to go with Kyle Higashioka.
Trevino, 29, doesn’t offer much as a hitter (.239/.267/.340 slash line in 302 plate appearances with Texas in 2021), but he’s an excellent defender. In 2021, he was valued at eight defensive runs saved (DRS), and he was valued at eight “catcher framing runs” (tied for third-best in MLB) for his outstanding skills as a pitch-framer. Additionally, Statcast has his strike rate in 2021 as the third-best mark in the majors at 51.8%.
Yo how does Jose Trevino make these look like strikes? pic.twitter.com/yXg7Vdtf7e
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 2, 2022
Jose Treviño used part of his signing bonus to build a “cage” at his house. It was less for hitting and more to work on his receiving. He put in blue turf to make it feel more. relaxing. https://t.co/m0GZysJYe6
— Mike Ferrin (@Mike_Ferrin) April 2, 2022
So, Trevino is going to make the Yankees’ pitchers look better too.
The Yankees are in a loaded AL East, with four teams projected to win at least 85 games, according to FanGraphs. Every little bit of improvement to the roster could end up being very meaningful in what could be a packed race.
