New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has made polarizing moves this season to help boost the team. The squad went into the 2022 campaign having a few weaknesses, executing multiple trades prior to the start of the season to help reinforce those vulnerabilities.
Some may point to the acquisition of Matt Carpenter as the biggest catalyst this year, but there is one clear-cut stroke of genius that changed the Yankees’ season altogether, and that is catcher Jose Treviño.
Not many are mentioning the success of Treviño anymore since it’s become a regular occurrence. After making the All-Star game and having the best season of his career by a significant margin, it is now expected that he performs at a high level.
However, it is important to note that he’s earning just $720K this year, whereas some players on the roster are making millions to do absolutely nothing.
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The Yankees walked away from highway robbery with Jose Treviño:
Treviño, 29, has played in 107 games this season, hitting .255 with a 28.8% on-base rate. He’s smashed 10 homers with 40 RBIs, doubling his home run total compared to 2021. He features a career-low 17.2% strikeout rate and a 4% walk-rate.
While his on-base percentage could be a bit better, Treviño is offering more than enough as an offensive piece. In his last three games, Treviño has contributed three hits, two RBIs, and just two strikeouts.
However, Treviño’s main contributions aren’t on the offensive side, they are via his defensive metrics. Treviño currently rates out as the best catcher in baseball via his strike-rate of 53.9%. He leads in that category by 2.2%, with Jonah Heim coming in second place. He’s also recorded 14 catcher framing runs and is one of the best framers in the bottom half of the zone.
In fact, Treviño has 19 defensive runs saved above average this season, increasing his 2021 total of 8 by 11 this year over 767.2 innings. By most accounts, he’s the best catcher in baseball, and it’s not even close. The fact the Yankees traded two lowly prospects for Treviño is absolutely mind-blowing.
Cashman sent flame-throwing relief pitcher Albert Abreu to the Rangers as a part of the deal, but he ended up right where he started after being designated for assignment by both Texas and the Kansas City Royals.
Without Treviño’s unbelievable stats across the board, the Yankees would find themselves in a vastly different position. If there are any moves that Cashman struck gold with, it is this insane value trade, landing one of the best catchers in baseball in addition to getting back one of the pieces he sent in the first place.