Jon Berti

Jon Berti Could See Time As Backup First Baseman For Cubs

By Leo Morgenstern | February 9, 2025 at 11:57am CDT

Jon Berti doesn’t match the profile of your typical first baseman. Listed at 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, Berti is best known for his speed. From 2018-23, his sprint speed consistently ranked in the 95th percentile or higher. In 2024, his age-34 season, he still ranked within the top 10% of baserunners with a sprint speed of 29.0 feet per second. Meanwhile, his average exit velocity, hard-hit rate, and barrel rate all would have ranked among the bottom 10% if he had enough batted balls to qualify. He managed just one extra-base hit in 74 trips to the plate. Since his debut in 2018, only 10 players (min. 1,500 PA) have a worse isolated power than Berti’s career .107 mark.

Indeed, up until this past October, Berti had never played first base – at least not professionally. The keystone was his primary home in the minor leagues. In the majors, he had split his time between second base, third base, and shortstop, while also filling in, on occasion, in all three outfield positions. However, in Game 2 of the ALDS between the Yankees and Royals, New York skipper Aaron Boone penciled Berti into the lineup at first base. The veteran utility man would end up starting two more games at first throughout the playoffs; all 12 of his 2024 postseason plate appearances (and all but one of his defensive innings) came at this brand new position.

The Yankees asked Berti to play first base out of desperation. Anthony Rizzo was unavailable for the ALDS, while DJ LeMahieu missed the entire postseason. Set to face the dominant southpaw Cole Ragans in Game 2, Boone decided he’d rather have the righty-batting Berti in the lineup over Ben Rice or Oswaldo Cabrera, both of whom have had their struggles against left-handed pitching. Yet, it seems as if Berti’s new club, the Cubs, could enter the 2025 season with Berti as their go-to backup at first base. Discussing the crop of position players who will suit up for the Cubs in the Cactus League this spring, Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic suggested Berti could be “the primary backup” at first base this year.

Michael Busch will return as Chicago’s everyday first baseman in 2025 after a strong rookie campaign. Over 152 games, he popped 21 home runs, walked 11.1% of the time, and finished with a 119 wRC+ – well above the league average, even at a position with high offensive standards. After Busch, however, the team doesn’t have many options to cover the right-most bag. None of the other Cubs players who spent time at the position in 2024 (Cody Bellinger, Patrick Wisdom, Garrett Cooper, and Matt Mervis) remain in the organization. Other than Busch, the only player on their 40-man roster with more MLB experience at first base than Berti is Ian Happ (61 innings from 2018-20). Needless to say, the Cubs aren’t going to play their three-time Gold Glove-winning left fielder in the infield unless it’s as a last resort.

Two of the four spots on the Cubs’ bench are spoken for; one belongs to Berti and one belongs to whichever catcher, either Miguel Amaya or Carson Kelly, isn’t in the starting lineup. Top candidates for the remaining bench spots include utility man Gage Workman, a Rule 5 draft pick; utility man Vidal Bruján, an offseason trade acquisition; utility man Nicky Lopez, a minor league signing; and utility man Ben Cowles, whom the Cubs protected from the Rule 5 draft. Oh, and they’ll need at least one bona fide outfielder, too. Alexander Canario is already on the 40-man roster, so he could have the inside track on that job. Simply put, that doesn’t leave much room in the mix for a true first baseman, even if the Cubs had one to consider. First base prospect Jonathon Long will be in camp, but the 23-year-old has played less than half a season above High-A, and his chances of earning a spot on the Opening Day roster are slim to none.

The Cubs could think about adding someone like Mark Canha or Justin Turner, but they don’t have the playing time to offer to make such a signing seem appealing for either side. Alternatively, they could bring another first baseman into camp on a minor league deal (names like Rowdy Tellez or Yuli Gurriel come to mind), but players of that caliber might not move the needle enough to be worth pursuing.

So, it seems as if Berti will be Chicago’s best bet to spell Busch at first base on occasion. That might not be the best use of Berti’s skill set – his bat is well below average at first, while his plus glove is wasted at a low-impact defensive position. That said, it’s not as if first base is a position that necessarily requires a strong backup. If Busch can play another 152 games (or more), Berti’s job at first will be minimal. His primary responsibilities will still be at second base, third base, and/or shortstop. He proved last October that he could play first base in a pinch, and that could very well be all he needs to do for the Cubs in 2025.

Twins Have Shown Interest In Paul DeJong, Luis Urías

By Darragh McDonald | February 6, 2025 at 2:27pm CDT

The Twins are interested in adding infield depth, particularly at shortstop, reports Dan Hayes of The Athletic. As part of that desire, free agents Paul DeJong and Luis Urías are two players they have recently checked in on. They also checked in on Jon Berti before he signed with the Cubs last month.

Adding depth is a sensible add for a club that was felled by injuries last year. The Twins were in playoff position for much of the 2024 season but went 9-18 in September, falling four games short of a postseason berth. Key players like Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Byron Buxton and others missed time in the second half as the club failed to tread water. Bolstering that depth makes plenty of sense. The club agreed to a deal with Harrison Bader this week, strengthening the outfield group, with an infield addition perhaps next on the to-do list.

Health has long been a focus for Correa. As a free agent, he famously had a couple of mega deals scuttled by concerns around his lower right leg. The Giants walked away from a 13-year, $350MM agreement with Correa after growing concerned about his right ankle going into the 2023 season. That led him to work out a 12-year, $315MM pact with the Mets, though they also had enough concern with the ankle to walk away. That led Correa back to the Twins on a six-year, $200MM pact with four vesting options.

In the first year of that deal, Correa got into 135 games but battled plantar fasciitis in his right foot. That seemed to impact his performance, as he hit .230/.312/.399 for a wRC+ of 95, his worst performance in a full season. He got back on track last year with a .310/.388/.517 line and 155 wRC+, but that plantar fasciitis and an oblique strain limited him to just 86 contests.

While Correa was away, Willi Castro got a lot of his playing time. He had a good season at the plate, slashing .247/.331/.385 for a 108 wRC+, but is overmatched as a defender at short. He has 1,187 2/3 innings at the position in his career, with more than a third of that coming in 2024. Defensive Runs Saved has given him a -21 grade at the position in his career, including -9 last year. Outs Above Average hasn’t been quite as negative, giving Castro +3 last year, but -3 in his career.

Since he can play other positions, Castro is perhaps better suited to being a super utility player who could play shortstop in a pinch, with the Twins adding a firmer backup at the position. They also have Edouard Julien and Austin Martin on the roster, though neither is considered a capable big league shortstop.

DeJong, 31, would certainly qualify based on his overall track record. He has logged 6543 1/3 innings at short in his career with +32 DRS and +2 OAA. DRS did drop him down to -9 last year, though that was his first negative score from that metric in his career.

Offensively, DeJong’s profile is well established, with lots of home runs and lots of strikeouts. That continued last year, as he launched 24 home runs between the White Sox and Royals but was also punched out at a massive 32.4% clip. Zack Gelof and Tyler O’Neill were the only two players with at least 450 plate appearances and a higher strikeout rate. In spite of the punchouts, the power helped him put up a .227/.276/.427 line and 95 wRC+. That was actually a nice upswing for him, since he hit a combined .189/.253/.330 for a 61 wRC+ in the previous two seasons.

Urías, 28 in June, would similarly come with concerns about inconsistency. He hit a combined .244/.340/.426 over 2021 and 2022 with the Brewers, production that translated to a 111 wRC+. He dipped to .194/.337/.299 and an 83 wRC+ between the Brewers and Red Sox in 2023. He was traded to the Mariners last year but kept in the minors until the end of August. He had a strong .260/.378/.413 line in Triple-A but then produced a .191/.303/.394 slash in 109 major league plate appearances down the stretch. That latter line came with four home runs but a 31.2% strikeout rate.

Defensively, Urías doesn’t have the same track record as DeJong. He has 1,116 innings at the shortstop position with marks of -6 DRS and -15 OAA. He hasn’t played there at the big league level since 2022.

Both DeJong and Urías can play other infield positions as well, which is likely important. Lewis projects as the club’s third baseman and has long-standing injury issues of his own. He has only played 152 games over his three-year career thanks to various ailments. Projected second baseman Brooks Lee dealt with a lower back strain and biceps tendinitis last year, only getting into 50 games. First baseman José Miranda had much of his 2023 wiped out by shoulder surgery. He bounced back in 2024 but was still limited to 121 games with a couple of IL stints for lower back strains.

Though adding more depth makes sense, the budget is still an ongoing question. For much of the winter, it seems as though the club might have to cut payroll before making any additions, leading to rumors involving Castro, catcher Christian Vázquez and righty Chris Paddack. More recently, Hayes reported last week that the club could actually add about $5MM to the payroll without subtractions. Since then, they agreed to deals with Bader and lefty Danny Coulombe worth $6.25MM and $3MM respectively.

DeJong or Urías shouldn’t cost much. Last winter’s deal with the White Sox only guaranteed DeJong $1.75MM. On the heels of a relative bounceback, he might be able to earn a raise, but it shouldn’t be massive. Urías was arbitration eligible this winter, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $5MM salary, but the Mariners outrighted him off their roster at season’s end.

The club has already spent a bit more than the $5MM Hayes was expecting as of a week ago. Whether they can add another modest deal remains to be seen, but some roster creativity might come up regardless. The Bader and Coulombe deals are still unofficial and the 40-man roster is full, so couple of spots have to be opened. If the club wants to add an infielder, that means a third spot will be required. Perhaps the combined payroll/roster crunch will lead to some maneuverings for the Twins in the final days before spring training gets rolling.

Cubs Sign Jon Berti

By Anthony Franco | January 22, 2025 at 8:26pm CDT

The Cubs are in agreement with infielder Jon Berti, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. It’s a one-year, $2MM guarantee that includes another $1.3MM in performance bonuses, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Berti is a client of Ball Players Agency.

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said last week that the front office was looking to upgrade the bench. A multi-positional infielder seemed the likeliest target. Chicago has already added Carson Kelly as a backup catcher and has a strong outfield. Their infield was much less settled after they included Isaac Paredes in the Kyle Tucker trade.

Berti, who turns 35 today, is a sensible depth pickup. He’s a good athlete who has ample experience at each of second base, third base and shortstop. He has decent defensive grades at all three spots. Berti topped 100 games for the Marlins in both the 2022 and ’23 seasons. He combined for a .268/.334/.373 batting line with solid strikeout and walk rates. While he has minimal power, he’s an excellent runner. Berti stole 41 bases in 46 attempts back in 2022 and continues to grade highly for his overall baserunning acumen.

The Yankees acquired the righty-hitting infielder from Miami just before last season got underway. Berti would have had an opportunity to push DJ LeMahieu for the third base job had he stayed healthy. That wasn’t to be, as he landed on the injured list with respective groin and calf problems early in the year. The latter — a significant strain of his left calf — shelved him between May and September. Berti was limited to 25 regular season appearances and played four times during New York’s run to the AL pennant. He hit .273 with one extra-base knock (a homer) in 74 plate appearances.

Berti finished the season just shy of six years of big league service. New York could’ve kept him for his final year of arbitration eligibility. They opted not to tender him a contract, which MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected around $3.8MM. He falls shy of that number as a free agent but secures a guaranteed deal and an MLB roster spot. As a player with over five years of service time, he can’t be sent to the minors without his consent. He’ll be on Chicago’s big league team.

It will likely be in a bench role. Dansby Swanson is locked in at shortstop. Nico Hoerner will play second base once he’s healthy. Hoerner is rehabbing from flexor surgery and might start the season on the injured list. That’d leave Berti as the favorite to handle the keystone. Prospect Matt Shaw is expected to get everyday run at third base. He’s coming off a monster year in the upper minors (.284/.379/.488 with 21 homers between Double-A and Triple-A). Shaw has significant offensive upside, but plenty of top prospects have struggled in their first look at major league pitching.

Berti offers insurance for Hoerner’s injury and adds a high-floor fallback at third base if Shaw doesn’t hit the ground running. The acquisition is likely to push at least one of Vidal Bruján or Gage Workman off the roster. Workman is a Rule 5 pick, while Bruján is a former top prospect whom the Cubs acquired from Miami last month. Bruján is out of options and cannot be sent down without clearing waivers. It’s highly unlikely that the Cubs carry each of Berti, Bruján and Workman on the Opening Day roster, especially if Hoerner is healthy.

Berti’s modest base salary pushes the Cubs’ luxury tax number to roughly $200MM, as calculated by RosterResource. They’re still more than $40MM below the tax line and should have ample space for another acquisition. Hoyer has called the bullpen a priority and they’ve been tied to a number of high-leverage relievers on the trade and free agent fronts.

Image courtesy of Imagn.

American League Non-Tenders: 11/22/24

By Darragh McDonald | November 22, 2024 at 6:10pm CDT

The deadline to tender a contract to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7pm CT. Here’s a rundown of the players on American League teams that have been non-tendered today. This post will be updated as more decisions are revealed. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for all players eligible for arbitration last month. All players who are non-tendered before this evening’s deadline go directly into free agency, where they’re eligible to sign with any of MLB’s 30 clubs.

Onto the transactions…

The Angels announced that they have non-tendered left-hander Patrick Sandoval, infielder Eric Wagaman, as well as outfielders Jordyn Adams and Bryce Teodosio. You can read more about those moves here.
The Astros tendered contracts to their entire arbitration class.
The Athletics announced that they did not tender a contract to right-hander Dany Jiménez, who was projected for a $1MM salary. He posted a 4.91 in 25 appearances for the A’s in 2024. He struck out 21.4% of opponents but gave out walks at a 16.2% clip.
The Blue Jays are planning to non-tender righty Dillon Tate, per Ben Nicholson Smith and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (X link). Tate was just claimed off waivers at the start of September and had a projected salary of $1.9MM. He’s a former fourth overall pick with some good numbers in his career but he missed most of 2023 due to injury and then posted a 4.66 ERA in 2024. The Jays are also non-tendering righty Jordan Romano, which you can read more about here.
The Guardians have non-tendered outfielder George Valera and right-hander Connor Gillispie, per Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com (X link). Both players were designated for assignment earlier this week.
The Mariners are going to non-tender outfielder Sam Haggerty, per Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 (X link). He was limited to just eight games in 2024 due to a torn achilles. He was only projected for a salary of $900K but the M’s have decided to move on. They also non-tendered infielder Josh Rojas and righties Austin Voth and JT Chargois, moves that are covered with more depth here.
The Orioles plan to non-tender right-hander Jacob Webb, per Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner (X link). Webb was projected for a salary of $1.7MM next year. The righty tossed 56 2/3 innings for the O’s in 2024 with a 3.02 ERA and 24.5% strikeout rate, but an 11.4% walk rate.
The Rays announced they have non-tendered outfielder Dylan Carlson as well as left-handers Tyler Alexander, Colin Poche and Richard Lovelady. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relayed the news (X link) prior to the official announcement. Carlson once seemed like a building block in St. Louis but his offense has declined for three straight years now and he was projected for a $2.7MM salary. Alexander was projected for $2.8MM and had a 5.10 ERA this year. Poche had a solid 3.86 ERA but was projected for $3.4MM. Lovelady was designated for assignment a few days ago.
The Rangers tendered contracts to their entire arbitration class.
The Red Sox announced that right-handers Bryan Mata and Isaiah Campbell were both non-tendered. Those two had been designated for assignment earlier this week.
The Royals tendered contracts to their entire arbitration class.
The Tigers announced that they have non-tendered infielder Eddys Leonard as well as right-handers Ricky Vanasco, Brendan White and Wilmer Flores. Three of those four were designated for assignment earlier this week. Flores, the lone exception, is the younger brother of the same-named Wilmer Flores of the Giants. The younger Flores was once a notable pitching prospect but was injured for most of 2024.
The Twins tendered contracts to their entire arbitration class.
The Yankees have non-tendered infielder Jon Berti, per Robert Murray of FanSided (X link). He was projected for a salary of $3.8MM. He was injured for much of the year and only got into 25 games. The Yankees also announced that they have non-tendered left-hander Tim Mayza, who was projected for a $4MM salary but had a 6.33 ERA in 2024.
The White Sox will non-tender first baseman/outfielder Gavin Sheets, which MLBTR covered earlier today. The Sox later announced Sheets and also that they non-tendered right-hander Enyel De Los Santos as well. De Los Santos was projected for a salary of $1.7MM but posted a 5.20 ERA this year.

AL East Notes: Berti, Leonsis, Orioles, Holliday, Rays

By Mark Polishuk | October 26, 2024 at 9:12am CDT

Jon Berti was the lone member of the Yankees’ ALCS roster that wasn’t included on the club’s roster for the World Series, though beyond tactics, health was the key factor in Berti’s absence. Manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other media that Berti suffered a flexor strain in his right hip while running the bases in Game 4 of the ALCS. Berti entered that game in the top of the ninth as a pinch-runner for Anthony Rizzo, came around to score what ended up as the game’s winning run, and then played second base in the bottom half of the frame.

“Unfortunately, time ran out for [Berti] to be ready,” Boone said. “So that’s a blow for us. I feel for him because he was playing a really important role for us, especially in those first two rounds.”

With Rizzo sidelined by two broken fingers until the ALCS, Berti found himself in the unlikely role of New York’s starting first baseman for two ALDS games against the Royals, and again for Game 3 of the ALCS (with Rizzo on the bench against Guardians left-hander Matthew Boyd). Though Berti has carved out a niche as a super-utility player over his seven Major League seasons, he had never before played first base during his entire pro career before taking on the cold corner for this year’s playoffs. Berti can only watch from the sidelines as his teammates will try to dig themselves out of an 0-1 hole in the Series after yesterday’s heartbreaking walkoff loss.

Yankees Reinstate Jazz Chisholm

By Anthony Franco | August 23, 2024 at 9:55am CDT

August 23: The Yankees have now made it official by announcing Chisholm’s reinstatement.

August 22: The Yankees will activate Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the injured list tomorrow, reports Andy Martino of SNY (on X). New York optioned Oswald Peraza back to Triple-A this evening to open an active roster spot.

It’s a remarkably quick turnaround. Chisholm’s season initially looked as if it could be in jeopardy when he damaged the UCL in his left (non-throwing elbow) a couple weeks ago. The Yankees quickly made clear they expected Chisholm back this year, although they didn’t anticipate this level of progress. As recently as last Friday, New York’s big deadline acquisition was reportedly targeting a return at some point in September.

Barring a last-minute change of plans, Chisholm will instead get back on the diamond after a minimal stint. He’ll draw back in at third base, where Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera have split the work over the last week and a half. That could be a significant boost to the New York lineup. Chisholm had been on an absolute tear early in his tenure in the Bronx. He already has seven homers with a .316/.361/.702 slash in 14 games as a Yankee.

Chisholm isn’t the only player who should soon return to the Yankee infield. Anthony Rizzo and Jon Berti are each scheduled to begin rehab assignments in the next few days (per the MLB.com injury tracker). Berti is headed to Double-A Somerset tomorrow; Rizzo is expected to join him there at some point this weekend. Position players can spend up to 20 days on a minor league rehab assignment.

Both Berti and Rizzo are on the 60-day injured list and have been out for multiple months. The former has only played in 17 games since the Yankees acquired him from Miami in a trade around Opening Day. Berti has been out since late May after suffering a significant strain in his left calf. Rizzo broke his right arm in a collision with Red Sox pitcher Brennan Bernardino in mid-June.

The Yankees called up 25-year-old Ben Rice to handle the majority of the first base work after that. Rice has struggled in his first look at MLB pitching, running a .180/.279/.374 slash. The rookie had a three-homer game against Boston last month but only has four longballs in his other 44 contests.

Yankees Reinstate, Option Jasson Domínguez

By Darragh McDonald | June 12, 2024 at 5:30pm CDT

The Yankees announced that outfielder Jasson Domínguez has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. To open a 40-man roster spot, infielder Jon Berti was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Domínguez, now 21, has long been one of the higher-ranked prospects in the Yankee system. He arrived on the major league scene with a splash late last year, hitting four home runs in his first eight contests as a September call-up. Unfortunately, he was then diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow and had to undergo Tommy John surgery.

That procedure generally has a lesser return timetable for position players as opposed to pitchers, with the Yankees providing an estimate of nine to ten months when announcing the surgery. He began this year on the injured list and has began a rehab assignment in the middle of May, eight months after going under the knife.

Domínguez has been hitting well on his rehab, with a line of .368/.415/.658 in his 20 games, but it he’ll have to stay in Triple-A due to a crowded outfield picture in the Bronx. The Yanks have mostly used an alignment of Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo on the grass this year, with Giancarlo Stanton the regular in the designated hitter slot and Trent Grisham providing depth from the bench.

All of those players are hitting well this year except for Grisham, but the Yanks don’t want their prized prospect to come up to the big leagues just to sit on the bench in a depth role. He’ll continue getting regular action for the RailRiders after his long layoff but will be a candidate to rejoin the major league club if anyone in that outfield mix needs a stint on the injured list. Soto has been dealing with some elbow inflammation of late but returned after a brief layoff.

From a service time perspective, it’s likely to have an impact on Domínguez’s future. He was able to get 31 days of service time during his call-up last year and would have been able to get to 1.031 this year if he were on the injured list or with the big league club all season long. If he stays an optional assignment for a number of weeks, he will fall short of that one-year mark here in 2024. If that comes to pass, the earliest he could qualify for free agency would be after 2030. If he is called up early enough to get to that one-year line, then free agency after 2029 would still be a possibility.

As for Berti, 34, he was acquired on the cusp of Opening Day as the Yankees were looking for some extra infield help while both DJ LeMahieu and Oswald Peraza were injured. Unfortunately, Berti himself has been injured for much of the year at this point. He missed the latter half of April due to a left groin strain, returning in early May. But a left calf strain sent him back to the IL on May 25.

Berti was told that he could miss six to eight weeks, per Greg Joyce of the New York Post on X, so the Yanks have decided to use his roster spot for this move. He now won’t be eligible for activation until late July.

Kevin Smith Accepts Outright Assignment With Yankees

By Anthony Franco | May 29, 2024 at 6:34pm CDT

May 29: The Yankees clarified on Wednesday that Smith has decided to accept the outright assignment. He’ll head back to Scranton and await another opportunity in the Bronx.

May 28: DJ LeMahieu is set to make his season debut, as the Yankees reinstated him from the 60-day injured list before tonight’s game in Anaheim. New York outrighted infielder Kevin Smith off the 40-man roster in a corresponding move; Smith has already elected minor league free agency in lieu of an assignment back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. New York also activated reliever Ian Hamilton from the COVID-19 list after optioning Yoendrys Gómez on Sunday.

LeMahieu is at third base and hitting ninth against Griffin Canning. He should take over more or less every day at the hot corner now that he’s back from the foot injuries that cost him the first two months of the season. LeMahieu broke a bone in his right foot on a foul ball at the tail end of camp. The team tried to get him back in late April, but he felt renewed soreness immediately after embarking on a rehab stint. That shut him down again for another couple weeks, but LeMahieu has gotten through six minor league games dating back to May 17.

Third base has been a rare question mark amidst one of the game’s most potent offenses. While Oswaldo Cabrera got out to a strong start to the season, he’s hitting .230/.273/.295 in 66 plate appearances over the past month. Spring Training trade acquisition Jon Berti has been limited to 17 games around a pair of injured list stints. The speedy utilityman went on the 10-day IL over the weekend with a left calf strain. He’ll be out well beyond the minimum, telling reporters this evening that he could miss between six and eight weeks (X link via Greg Joyce of the New York Post).

LeMahieu is coming off a league average offensive performance in 2023. He hit .243/.327/.390 across 562 plate appearances. His performance improved over the course of the year. LeMahieu carried a meager .220/.285/.357 line into the All-Star Break before posting a .273/.377/.432 slash in the second half. He’s unlikely to recapture his 2019-20 form as he approaches his 36th birthday, though he should still be an upgrade over Cabrera, who fits better in a multi-positional role off the bench.

Smith, a New York-area native, signed a minor league contract with the Yankees over the offseason. He played in 29 games with the RailRiders, hitting .204/.270/.286 while striking out 41 times in 111 trips to the plate (a 36.9% rate). The Yanks called him up twice as utility depth. He appeared in two games as a pinch runner and didn’t take an at-bat at the major league level.

The Yankees had already outrighted the 27-year-old once this season, sending him through waivers in April. That gave him the right to test free agency this time around, as is the case for all players with a previous career outright. It’s not uncommon to see players circle back to their previous organization on a minor league contract after electing free agency, but Smith and his camp could look for a non-roster deal elsewhere now that LeMahieu is healthy. One of four players whom the A’s acquired from the Blue Jays in the Matt Chapman deal, Smith is a .173/.215/.301 hitter in 333 MLB plate appearances.

Yankees Select Kevin Smith

By Nick Deeds | May 25, 2024 at 3:19pm CDT

The Yankees announced this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Kevin Smith. Smith will take the roster spot of Jon Berti, who the club placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left calf strain. Making room for Smith on the 40-man roster is DJ LeMahieu, who was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Smith, 27, was a 4th-round pick by the Blue Jays back in 2017 and made his big league debut with the club in 2021, though he hit just .094/.194/.188 in 36 plate appearances with Toronto that season. Smith is perhaps most notable for being part of the four-player package the Blue Jays sent to Oakland in exchange for then-A’s third baseman Matt Chapman prior to the 2022 season. Smith would go on to appear in 96 games for the A’s over the 2022 and ’23 campaigns but again struggled to hit at the big league level as he posted a paltry .183/.218/.314 slash line in 297 trips to the plate as a member of the Athletics.

That meager offensive performance was enough to convince the A’s to non-tender Smith back in November, though he eventually joined the Yankees on a minor league deal back in January. This is actually Smith’s second stint with the big league club this year, as he was already called up once earlier this year the first time the club placed Berti on the shelf back in mid-April. Unfortunately for Smith, he ultimately made just one appearance in a Yankees uniform during that stint with the club and failed to record even one plate appearance before being designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A.

It’s possible this stint in the majors could be a similarly brief one as well. After all, the Yankees also announced earlier this afternoon that LeMahieu’s rehab assignment has been transferred to Triple-A and MLB.com’s Injury Tracker notes that manager Aaron Boone expects LeMahieu to rejoin the club at some point during their three-game set against the Angels that begins on May 28. LeMahieu’s initial IL placement was retroactive to March 25, meaning that today’s transfer to the 60-day IL is a purely procedural move that has no bearing on when the Yankees can activate him.

LeMahieu’s return from the shelf will be a huge relief for the Yankees, as they’ve struggled to get much production from much of their infield mix this year. Anthony Volpe has been excellent at shortstop this season while veteran first baseman Anthony Rizzo has held his own with a roughly league average slash line, but Gleyber Torres has struggled badly at the plate while acting as the club’s regular second baseman with a .221/.298/.318 slash line in 219 trip to the plate so far this year. It can be argued that Torres’s overall track record an above-average bat should earn him the opportunity to bust out of his slump, but the same can’t be said for Oswaldo Cabrera, who got off to a blazing start at the hot corner this year but has struggled badly over the past month with a .208/.253/.260 slash line in his last 25 games.

The club’s struggles to get offensive production from their infield mix are compounded by the loss of Berti, who was ice cold in six games with the club prior to being placed on the injured list in April but has heated up considerably in the month of May with a .306/.359/.389 slash line in 11 games. That production in conjunction with Berti’s experience all over the diamond except for first base and behind the plate made Berti a strong bench contributor to the Yankees’ scuffling infield, but now they’ll be without him for the foreseeable future. The Yankees have not yet announced a timeline for Berti’s return, although the utility man was seemingly unable to put weight on his leg while exiting last night’s game in the ninth inning, as noted by MLB.com.

Yankees Designate Taylor Trammell For Assignment

By Mark Polishuk | May 4, 2024 at 9:04am CDT

The Yankees announced that outfielder Taylor Trammell has been designated for assignment. The move opens up a 26-man roster spot for utilityman Jon Berti, who has been activated from the 10-day injured list after missing the last three weeks due to a groin strain.

In a little more than five weeks’ time, Trammell has been DFA’ed by three different organizations. The Mariners designated Trammell just prior to Opening Day, and the Dodgers claimed the outfielder off waivers a few days later. Los Angeles then returned Trammell to DFA limbo in mid-April, and Trammell found himself quickly on the move once more when the Yankees placed a claim.

Trammell is out of minor league options, hence the whirlwind of transactions as teams have had to try and sneak him through waivers in order to officially outright him off the 40-man roster. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Trammell claimed again if yet another club has need for some outfield depth, so he could soon add a fourth team to his 2024 resume.

Over five games apiece with the Dodgers and Yankees, Trammell has only eight plate appearances. (He had a walk and a hit in his two PA with New York, giving him one of the few perfect batting lines in Yankees franchise history.) Trammell has hit only .167/.270/.363 over 359 career MLB plate appearances, which has dimmed his star after several years as a top-100 ranked prospect during his time in the minors.

The dreaded “Quad-A” label could apply here since Trammell has continued to rake at Triple-A, but between his speed and ability to play all three outfield positions, Trammell has still managed to attract attention for roster spots. His past blue-chip prospect status has also undoubtedly helped, as some teams might think Trammell could still have a post-hype breakout in him at age 26.

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