The New York Yankees seem to be impervious to losing this season, whether that be on the baseball diamond or behind the scenes finding valuable players from other squads. Prior to the start of the year, the Yankees executed a blockbuster trade with the Minnesota Twins, sending Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela in exchange for Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Josh Donaldson, and Ben Rortvedt.
Unfortunately, Rortvedt had already sustained an oblique injury that kept him out of spring training. The Yankees planned on platooning the catcher position with Kyle Higashioka, meaning they needed to find another option to supplement the loss. Luckily for them, they had a perfect option in mind, courtesy of the Texas Rangers.
- Yankees getting next to nothing from ice-cold infielder
- Yankees see All-Star-caliber performance from $162 million pitcher
- Yankees could look internally to fix a potential problem at first base
Yankees stole an embarrassment of riches from the Rangers this year:
Jose Treviño:
This season, Treviño is having one of the best performances of any catcher. The 29-year-old veteran is hitting .309 with five HRs and 18 RBIs. He hosts a career-low 13.5% strikeout rate and career-high 6.7% walk rate. His 35.6% on base rate is also a personal best. Offensively, he’s revolutionized the catcher position for the Yankees after relying on an extremely inconsistent Sanchez the past few seasons.
However, Treviño isn’t only an offensive spark plug, he’s also a defensive maestro. Jose is tied for 1st in Major League Baseball with a 51.9% strike rate, and three catcher framing runs saved.
General manager Brian Cashman sent minor-league RHP Albert Abreu and left-hander Robby Ahlstrom in exchange for Treviño, which has proved to be an absolute steal.
Matt Carpenter:
To make matters even worse for Texas, the Yankees signed Matt Carpenter right from underneath them. He had spent 21 games with their minor-league affiliate in Triple-A, hitting .275 with six homers and 19 RBIs. After signing with the Bombers, he’s taking his game to another level, heading .333 with six homers and 13 RBIs over just 30 plate appearances.
The Rangers must be baffled at their mismanagement of these two players, considering both are having resurgent seasons with the Bombers. If Carpenter can continue to play at this level donning the pinstripes, the Yankees will be in great shape.
In total, the Yankees only gave up Abreu, who has already been DFA’d, a low-tier prospect, and picked up Carpenter and Trevino — an embarrassment of riches.