The Yankees improved their infield the day before the season
On Wednesday, the Yankees pulled off a three-team trade. This trade was necessary since Yankees are without two infielders to begin the regular season.
LeMahieu would have been the starting third baseman but is on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to 3/25) with a right foot contusion. It is not known yet when he will return but it’s likely that he will return in the first few weeks of the season. His injury along with Oswaldo Peraza’s injury is why the Yankees made this trade three-team trade for Jon Berti.
Oswaldo Cabrera would have been the backup at third and other positions but now Cabrera is the third baseman filing in for LeMahieiu. Cabrera was named the Opening Day third baseman for the game in Houston against the Astros and he will try to play more like he did in 2022 than he did in 2023
They acquired the versatile Berti from the Miami Marlins in a trade that also involved the Tampa Bay Rays, which is the Yankees division rival and the other team in Florida. Berti is entering his seventh MLB season and offers a lot of value since he plays third base, second base and shortstop.
The Rays acquired Yankees third string catcher Ben Rortvedt, while the Marlins acquired minor league outfielder Johon Cruz from the Yankees and minor league outfielder Shane Sasaki from the Rays.
Last season for the Marlins, Berti had seven homers, 33 RBI, 16 doubles and 16 steals in 133 games while having a .294 average, a .344 OBP, a .748 OPS and a 103 OPS+. The previous season, in only 102 games for the Marlins (31 fewer than the previous season) he had one more double (17) and 25 more steals. His 41 steals in the 2022 season led the National League.
He is 34 and played by far his most games of his career in 2023. He played 73 games in 2019, 39 games in the shortened 2020 season and 85 games in the 2021 season.
He was originally drafted by the Athletics in the 36th round in 2008 out of his high school in Troy, Michigan but then after going to Bowling Green State in Ohio, he was drafted in the 18th round in 2011 by the Blue Jays. He was really able to increase his draft stock in those three years.
In college, Berti set Falcons’ single-season records with a .423 batting average, 93 hits, and tied the single-season record with six triples. His 17 career triples were also a school record for the Division One school in the Mid-American Conference. Berti is in the Hall of Fame at Bowling Green.
He was inducted in 2022 after being a two-time all MAC first team selection. Berti batted .368 in his freshman year, the highest average for a BGSU freshman since 1976. He hit .356 as a junior, including a very impressive .412 average in MAC play.
He made his debut in 2018 but only played four games that season for the Blue Jays. He was promoted for the first time on September 26 and played in four games to finish out that season and went 4–15. He was designated for assignment on October 5, out righted to Triple-A Buffalo on October 9 and then he elected free agency on November 2.
One month later, on December 3, the Marlins signed him to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training.
Berti was a good pick just before the season started since he is very good defensively and gives the lineup some speed on the bases when he gets on. He is an average bat but is known for his defense especially at shortstop and third base while also being able to play third base and left field. He will be a good fill in backup off of the bench and can get some starts at third along with Cabrera while LeMahieiu is on the injured list.
He played over 89 innings at second base, left field and third base and shortstop in 133 games last season. He played most of his games and shortstop and third base and had a .966 fielding percentage in 64 games at shortstop and a .969 fielding percentage in 41 games at third base.
Berti had five defensive runs saved at third base and two outs above average (OAA) at shortstop last season. Anything greater than zero OAA indicates that a fielder is above average skill level and makes plays that average fielders may not be able to.
When LeMahieu comes off of the injured list Berti should be able to contribute to a lesser extent primarily because he can play four positions at two of those at a very high level. It’s valuable to have a player who has a lot of versatility and speed.
Berti is a very fast utility infielder who can also play outfield like Cabrera. He had a solid on-base percentage last season at .344 and in 2020 he had a very impressive .388 OBP in his 149 plate appearances in 39 games.
Rortvedt was traded from the Yankees to the Rays since they did not have a backup catcher already and the Yankees have Jose Trevino as the starting catcher and Austin Wells as their backup. If Wells plays well to begin the season it’s possible he could become the primary catcher after the first month or two of the season.
The Yankees were able to get decent value for a player that would not have been on the MLB roster to begin the season as Rortvedt would have been the Triple-A Scranton catcher to begin the season. Rortvedt only played in 71 games with the Yankees after being acquired from the Twins before the 2022 season due to multiple injuries and had a low .146 average in his 157 at-bats.
