Yankees Have (Literal) Options Behind the Plate

Defense isn’t the only thing New York’s new receiving core brings to the roster.

Before the MLB lockout began in December, Gary Sánchez and Kyle Higashioka were the only catchers on the Yankees’ 40-man roster.

Now, with Opening Day almost here, New York has completely reshaped its receiving room – in terms of depth and maneuverability. Higashioka remains and will top off a defensive-minded depth chart. He is joined by Ben Rortvedt, who was acquired in the trade that sent Sánchez to Minnesota, and Jose Trevino, who came over from Texas with Rortvedt battling an oblique injury.

Like Higashioka, Rortvedt and Trevino are considered excellent backstops; all three are terrific framers.

 “With our roster catchers – Higgy, Ben and Trevino – I feel like we’ve got three premium defensive catchers on our roster now,” Aaron Boone said toward the end of spring training, also noting that the club had some experienced non-roster invites in camp.

But defense is not the only thing New York’s newest catchers have in common. They both have minor league options remaining: Rortvedt has two, while Trevino has one, per Roster Resource. Higashioka, meanwhile, doesn’t have any.

Minor league options may seem insignificant, but they provide the Yankees with valuable roster flexibility after drastically shaking up their catching core.

None of New York’s catchers have ever been full-time starters, a role that more or less belongs to Higashioka right now, and none of them are considered serious offensive threats. Higashioka mitigated the latter concern with a home run-happy spring, but this is still an unproven group at the plate, as talented as the contingent may be behind it.

Alright, we get it. pic.twitter.com/3wLOOQ01GG

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 2, 2022

Rortvedt and Trevino’s options will let the Yankees play around a bit if one member of the trio is flailing. For example, Rortvedt’s season will likely begin at Triple-A; in addition to his injury hindering him in spring training, he’s also the youngest and least experienced of the group. However, if he hits well in Scranton and Trevino is struggling offensively in the majors, the Yankees can make a swap and bring up a player who is 1) already on the 40-man roster and 2) is someone the team initially felt comfortable with at the big league level.

However New York’s catching situation plays out – there’s even a chance New York carries three MLB catchers at some point – there is no question the Yankees have better depth at the position than they did a year ago.

With a trio now formed, Boone agrees. “We feel better about our catching situation,” he said. 

MORE:

• Yankees Looking for Length Out of Clarke Schmidt
• Yankees Finalize Opening Day Roster: Who Made the Team?
• Greg Bird Returns To Yankees On Minor League Deal

Follow Gary Phillips on Twitter (@GaryHPhillips). Be sure to bookmark Inside The Pinstripes and check back daily for news, analysis and more.