Jose Trevino to IL with season-ending wrist injury; Ben Rortvedt up

The New York Yankees announced today that Jose Trevino is going on the injured list with a right wrist tear. To replace the reigning Platinum Glove winner, general manager Brian Cashman will call up Ben Rortvedt from Triple-A to split the duties with Kyle Higashioka.

The trip to the IL is retroactive to July 18, as Higashioka had already taken over as the starting catcher job over the past several games. However, it does not really matter, as Trevino won’t be coming back until 2024. He confirmed to reporters that he will soon undergo season-ending wrist surgery to fix his torn TFCC ligament.

Even for his standards, Trevino was having a down year with the bat, carrying a career-low .570 OPS and 58 wRC+. He was hitting .210/.257/.312 with just four homers. If Trevino’s wrist had been bothering him for months, that would partially explain his bat’s drastic decline, as his numbers were worse than his pre-2022 All-Star form. Still, his glovework will be missed. After all, outstanding defense is Trevino’s calling card.

Rortvedt has had minimal exposure in the big leagues this season, with only a handful of appearances. However, it’s not like Higgy is that much of an upgrade over Trevino offensively, so hopefully Rortvedt gets a little bit of run, or at least a notable share of playing time behind the plate. He was hitting .286/.395/.505 with six homers and a 154 wRC+ in 29 games for Triple-A Scranton. With a struggling lineup, it won’t be hard for Aaron Boone to ride the hot band with the bat if one of the two stands out in the near-future.

Of note on the prospect front is that catching prospect Austin Wells was bumped up from Double-A to take Rortvedt’s spot. He’s still a work in progress behind the plate, but his bat is solid. Wells had a .237/.327/.443 triple slash with 11 homers and a 107 wRC+ in 58 games for Somerset.

It’s good to keep challenging the 2020 first-round pick; let’s hope that Wells keeps it going in Scranton.