Yankees get bad injury news on developing catcher acquired from Twins

Ben Rortvedt, yankees

The New York Yankees have been extremely healthy this season for the most part. However, when they acquired Ben Rortvedt from the Minnesota Twins, they knew he was carrying an oblique injury that would keep him out for a few weeks.

Rortvedt eventually overcame the issue but picked up a knee injury recently. His knee had been bothering him in the defensive stance. Unfortunately, that injury has become problematic and required surgery.

According to Yankees PR, Rortvedt will miss a bit of time after surgery:

On Tuesday, C Ben Rortvedt underwent arthroscopic surgery (a partial meniscectomy or “meniscus clean-up”) on his left knee. The surgery, which went as expected, was performed by Yankees Head Team Physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Recovery time to begin playing in games is expected to be 6-8 weeks.

Rortvedt will miss 6–8 weeks after getting his meniscus cleaned up in his left knee.

The Yankees had been making solid progress with Ben Rortvedt:

The former Twin made two appearances this year at the Single-A level, enjoying just five plate appearances. He tallied a home run and single, good for a .500 average. The Yankees anticipated Rortvedt being a more significant part of the team this season, with Gary Sanchez heading to Minnesota in the trade. Instead, they had to sign Jose Trevino to fill the platoon role alongside Kyle Higashioka.

Trevino and Higashioka have struggled offensively this season, but there’s no guarantee Rortvedt would’ve offered much more, despite performing well at the Triple-A level with the Twins in 2021. Over 39 games last year at the MLB level, he posted a .169 average and .229 on-base percentage. He was having a bit of trouble adjusting to better competition, but who’s to say more reps wouldn’t have curated further development.

Nonetheless, the Yankees will have to wait quite a while before Rortvedt makes his first appearance with the top squad, but I wouldn’t rule out a comeback in the 2nd half of the season.