Rays sign C Ben Rortvedt in a three-team trade with the Yankees.
Tampa Bay exchanges OF Shane Sasaki is a top-30 prospect.
A three-team transaction that also included the Miami Marlins saw the Tampa Bay Rays acquire catcher Ben Rortvedt from the New York Yankees. The Rays will trade outfielder Shane Sasaki to the Marlins; in the meantime, the Marlins and Yankees will trade pitcher John Cruz for infielder Jon Berti. Sasaki was recently ranked the 27th greatest prospect in the organization by the Draysbay community.
Despite being regarded as one of the best defenders in the game, Rortvedt has seen little action in the last two seasons (2022 with the Twins and 2023 with the Yankees after a trade) because of a variety of injuries. Having reached a maximum velocity of 111 mph EV, he possesses significant power and is typically a left-handed, low-chase hitter.
With the return of former primary catcher Jose Trevino from injury and former first-round pick Austin Wells, Rortvedt appears to be third on the Yankees depth chart despite having no minor league options left. Tanner Swanson, the director of catcher for the Yankees and a former Twins coach who pioneered the use of pitch framing and one-knee down coaching techniques, was interviewed by NJ.com earlier this week regarding Rortvedt’s circumstances.
Rortvedt’s ability to assist a major league roster is something Swanson acknowledged. “He is a quality major league catcher.” He has demonstrated that.
Trevino said of Ben, “He’s a terrific catcher.” “He’s ready. He’s prepared to leave. He has an incredible work ethic. He possesses every instrument.
NJ.com
Rortvedt has played for the Twins and Yankees in his limited big league experience, splitting 177 plate appearances at.146/.234/.255 with 5 HR. In contrast, Rortvedt hit.291/.403/.513 with six home runs over 139 plate appearances last season while splitting time between three levels of the Yankees minor system.
The Rays picked Shane Sasaki in the third round of the 2019 MLB draft. Sasaki was a gifted outfielder from Hawaii with the kind of tools scouts only see in their dreams. Regretfully, he has had difficulty staying well. In 2023, Sasaki, in his third minor league season, just made it to High-A. In 64 games, he hit.301/.375/.465 with 7 home runs and 12 stolen bases. At the end of the season, Sasaki would have been eligible for the Rule-5.
With infielder Austin Shenton joining the team earlier today, as Steve Carney reported earlier today, the Rays Opening Day roster is almost fully formed. Alex Jackson will be in Triple-A Durham in the meanwhile, as indicated by the acquisition of Rortvedt.
It appears that the Rays are still debating between newly acquired Niko Goodrum and top prospect Curtis Mead for their 26th man. It is not necessary to finalize the 2024 roster until tomorrow at noon.
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