There is still no Josh Donaldson trader. But there are still a few to burn down the Yankees!
After the New York Yankees acquired Jon Berti in a trade with the Miami Marlins on Wednesday, the team’s supporters rejoiced. The injuries to DJ LeMahieu and Oswald Peraza severely limited the team’s depth in the infield, thus it was exactly the kind of addition the squad needed.
However, we are foolish! We believed that we could enjoy ourselves without tying ourselves down in any further way? Since 2010, that has not been a Yankees fan’s life. Adapt to the times!
Other than Berti going to the Yankees, there were no details of the trade transaction in the first news release. It turned out that the Yankees were giving up something while everyone waited to find out, and that the Tampa Bay Rays were part of a three-team trade.
To complete the trade, the Yanks sent catcher Ben Rortvedt to the Rays and sent No. 28 prospect John Cruz to the Marlins.
The departure of Rortvedt was unavoidable. The team was not going to carry three catchers, therefore he was out of options. With his departure, there is officially no record of the Josh Donaldson trade left within the Yankees organization. However, Rortvedt and Isiah Kiner-Falefa will stay in the division, so the Yankees will eventually have to deal with these guys’ anticipated retaliation.
The Yankees close the door on a disastrous transaction involving Josh Donaldson, but they expose themselves.
Remember that Rortvedt was the extra piece that the Twins got in the trade that saw Donaldson, IKF, and Gary Sánchez go to New York and Gio Urshela and Gary Sánchez go to Minnesota in 2022? Rortvedt’s biceps were the main draw, but for his first year and a half in the Bronx, he was more of an urban legend than anything else.
He didn’t play in a single game in 2022 due to an injury that occurred as soon as he arrived. Then, when he had to have surgery for something we had never heard of before, his 2023 started off similarly. Rortvedt played in 32 games overall for the Yanks, hitting.118 with an OPS of.461, and contributing below-average defense.
He was, however, GERRIT COLE’S PERSONAL CATCHER at some point, for whatever reason. Yes, Rortvedt caught most of his games in the second half of the campaign according to the man who won the Cy Young award in 2023. Nobody could have made someone as unimportant as Rortvedt as important as he eventually became but the Yankees.
But hold on to it! Rortvedt will start slugging against the Rays for no apparent reason, and when he hits a game-winning home run against them in May when the bullpen decides to implode on a random Wednesday evening, the Yankees will undoubtedly want to take a long stroll off a small pier.
When the Yanks play the division-rival Blue Jays and Rays in 2024 (and maybe beyond), the stench of the Donaldson deal will remain a little longer. We’ll undoubtedly be able to permanently end it one day.
