Yankees acquire Berti in three-team deal, Rortvedt to Rays

27/03/2024 19:58

A three-team deal broke on Opening Day Eve between New York and the two Florida teams.

The Yankees and Marlins have been much-predicted trade partners for a while now, and we finally got a deal done between the two — and that other Florida franchise. Jon Berti, the speedster who saw time at five different positions in 2023, comes to the Bronx, the Marlins get Rookie ball outfielder John Cruz, and the Rays picked up Ben Rortvedt from the Yankees. Miami also gets another young outfielder in Tampa Bay's Shane Sasaki, who finished last season in High-A.

The trade:

Berti, now 34, is still a reasonably productive player and provides a high floor for the infield while the Yankees track DJ LeMahieu's recovery from a bone bruise, and wait for Oswaldo Cabrera to show any signs of improvement. Berti had a 103 wRC+ last year, putting up a 2.1 fWAR and swiping 16 bags in just 133 games. He still has minor league options, though he's just two weeks away from five years of MLB service, allowing him to refuse an option assignment. Given the shaky state of the left side of the infield, the Yankees will likely have him up and potentially starting, disregarding that service time accumulation.

As for Ben Rortvedt, the Yankees seem firmly behind Austin Wells and Jose Trevino as the catching tandem for 2024. With Rortvedt out of options, he was an obvious candidate to be dealt, and he'll look to recover some kind of offensive form down in Tampa.

With Berti now in the fold, and Jahmai Jones likely to be on the Opening Day roster, we likely have our finalized Yankee squad for that first series in Houston. Berti's a likely upgrade over Cabrera, and his versatility should guarantee him playing time in the season's first month.

Here's the current rundown on the Yankees' expected roster, subject to change (most notably in the case of Jones).

C (2): Jose Trevino, Austin Wells
IF (4): Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, Anthony Volpe, Jon Berti
OF (5): Trent Grisham, Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, Alex Verdugo, Giancarlo Stanton
UT (2): Oswaldo Cabrera, Jahmai Jones
SP (5): Nestor Cortes, Carlos Rodón, Marcus Stroman, Clarke Schmidt, Luis Gil
RP (8): Clay Holmes, Jonathan Loáisiga, Victor González, Caleb Ferguson, Ian Hamilton, Nick Burdi, Luke Weaver, Clayton Beeter

IL: Gerrit Cole, DJ LeMahieu, Tommy Kahnle, Oswald Peraza, Jasson Domínguez, Scott Effross, Lou Trivino