TODAY: Trevino has been diagnosed with a grade 2 quad strain and will be out for “some time,” Aaron Boone told reporters (including Brendan Kuty of The Athletic) this afternoon.
July 13: Catcher Jose Trevino has been placed on the Yankees’ 10-day injured list due to a left quad strain, the team announced prior to today’s game. Carlos Narvaez was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move, and will now share catching duties with Austin Wells until Trevino recovers.
The injury occurred late in Friday’s 4-1 Yankees win over the Orioles, when Trevino slid home while scoring a run in the ninth inning. Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Greg Joyce of the New York Post) today that a timeline isn’t yet known for Trevino’s return, as the catcher has returned to New York to undergo testing.
The lefty-righty platoon of Trevino and Wells have split the playing time almost as evenly as possible this season, as both players entered Saturday with exactly 59 games and 186 plate appearances apiece. Trevino has been the slightly more productive of the two at the plate, with eight homers and a .244/.303/.411 slash line to Wells’ five home runs and .219/.312/.369 slash.
This translates to a 103 wRC+ for Trevino and a 97 wRC+ for Wells, and while Wells has been a strong defender in his own right, Trevino has continued to post his typical elite framing and blocking numbers. While the Yankees might’ve preferred to see a former top-100 prospect like Wells have a bigger breakout in his first full Major League season, Trevino’s steady veteran presence and glovework has been a big boost to the team.
More will be known about Trevino’s recovery timeline once tests are complete, but if he is going to miss an extended period of time, it’ll put more pressure on Wells and rookie Narvaez to keep things steady at the catching position. (Narvaez was briefly called up to the 26-man roster earlier this season but didn’t receive any in-game action, so he has yet to make his MLB debut.) Ben Rice could be an option for some catching duty, though Rice has only caught one inning in his own rookie season, and New York will need him more pressingly at first base while Anthony Rizzo is out. Depending on how long Trevino is out, the Yankees might now consider adding some veteran catching depth at the trade deadline, or perhaps sign an experienced backup to play ahead of Narvaez.
Boone has said that Rice is needed at first and will not catch.
Also: “Trevino’s steady veteran presence and glovework has been a big boost to the team.” But his arm, not so much.
His arm has been shown to be late career Posada/Varitek-esque poor. Why every team doesn’t run everyone with like 60th percentile speed when he’s behind the plate is strange and anybody at all paired with Stroman.
As much as I like Trevino, this may be a blessing as it removes any feelings-based decision-making from Boone. His desire to evenly split the playing time has hurt the team more than it has helped them, imo. Wells needs ABs. He needs to build that foundation now. Same thing with Ben Rice and JDDavis platooning. It was more beneficial to the individual (Davis) than it was the team.
A very good handler of pitchers.
Opposition runs him whenever they please.
Sad to see..
When the wheels start coming off a team, very often it’s not the loss of of 3-4 WAR player that tips it…it’s the useful player at a hard-to-find position that you end up missing and then overpaying for someone else’s expensive discard,
It’s time for Wells to prove he’s the everyday catcher for next year. If not maybe Ramirez
Not the case here. Wells is capable of starting and Navarez can get his 2 games per week. The black hole and 3rd is much more impactful.
McMahon & Diaz… unless Colorado powers are up to there silly game of tease
Narvaez can play. Give him some run!
Good thing they traded Rortvedt. Hitting in the 270’s and a masterclass defensively
Small sample size noise. He was out of options Wells and Trevino both much better players to keep.
And so much easier to call their names than Rortvxdzthxc.