Yankees' Ben Rortvedt Sidelined After Undergoing Surgery

The Yankees catcher won’t perform baseball activities for a month.

It turns out Ben Rortvedt is dealing with more than just a finger issue.

The Yankees catcher underwent surgery Wednesday to address an aneurysm of the posterior artery near his left shoulder, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. The problem was causing circulation issues, which led to Rortvedt’s previously known finger issue, according to The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty.

Rortvedt won’t be able to perform baseball activities for a month.

Good health has been hard to come by since Rortvedt became a Yankee. He actually already had an oblique injury when New York acquired him, Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa from the Twins last spring. Rortvedt also underwent left knee surgery for a meniscus clean-up in May.

Rortvedt, 25, has yet to make his Yankees debut, though he did play in 39 games for the Twins in 2021. He spent his first season in the Yankees organization in the minors, primarily at Triple-A. Rortvedt slashed .221/.307/.396 with six home runs and 20 RBI over 42 games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

He also played in 12 Dominican Winter League games during the offseason, though he hit just .114.

Rortvedt’s value comes from his glove. Like big leaguers Jose Trevino and Kyle Higashioka, he is a defensive-minder catcher. Those three are the only backstops on New York’s 40-man roster.

It’s unclear who the Yankees would turn to if Trevino or Higashioka suffered injuries while Rortvedt is down. Other catchers in camp include Austin Wells, who recently bruised his ribs, Josh Breaux, Rodolfo Durán, Carlos Narvaez and Anthony Seigler. 

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