The Cincinnati Reds have found their backup to catcher Tyler Stephenson, trading for former Platinum Glove winner Jose Trevino from the New York Yankees, sending reliever Fernando Cruz and catcher Alex Jackson.
The Yankees sent Trevino, who is a free agent after the 2025 season, to save money. Trevino is projected to make $3.6 million in arbitration, while both Cruz and Jackson are making less than $1 million each.
The New York Yankees today announced that they have acquired RHP Fernando Cruz and C Alex Jackson from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for C Jose Trevino.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) December 21, 2024
The Reds needed a backup catcher after declining their option on Luke Maile, the team’s backup the past two seasons. Moving Trevino to Cincinnati transfers that problem from the Reds to the Yankees. Trevino was slated to be the backup to Austin Wells. Trevino was a personal favorite of Gerrit Cole’s and the primary catcher for his Cy Young Award season in 2023. He’s also one of the best defenders in the sport, specifically when it comes to pitch-framing. Wells credited Trevino for his mentorship in helping him become a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2024.
The Platinum Glove winner in 2022 will not only back up Stephenson, but could also free up Stephenson to DH more and perhaps even play some first base. Stephenson caught a career-best 1,001 innings last season and had the best defensive season of his career. Trevino, though, is one of the game’s best defenders, giving the Reds a solid duo.
“We all know how much catchers get hurt, so you want to have someone that if something happened to one of these guys, the other guy could take the bulk share of the starts,” Krall said. “We haven’t had that in the past; we’ve had guys that are more traditional backups.”
What the Yankees do have now is Cruz’s split-finger fastball, one of the game’s most devastating pitches. Cruz returns to the place where he made perhaps the biggest pitch of his young career, inducing an inning-ending double play from Aaron Judge to preserve the Reds’ one-run lead in an eventual 3-2 victory.
The 34-year-old Cruz was drafted by the Royals in the sixth round of the 2007 draft as a shortstop out of Puerto Rico. His route had two position changes, two organizations and 14 different leagues, including three different leagues in Mexico, and in five different countries.
In 2022, Cruz turned down offers in Mexico to make one last run at the big leagues, finally signing a minor-league deal with the Reds. Cruz earned a job at Triple A and then a call-up to the big leagues that September.
Over three seasons, Cruz is 4-11 with a 4.52 ERA and 228 strikeouts in 147 1/3 innings. Last season his 37.8 percent strikeout rate was in the top 1 percentile of all of baseball, but his 12.2 percent walk rate was in the bottom 7 percentile.
Cruz is a beloved figure in the Reds’ clubhouse, not just by his teammates but by pretty much anyone who encounters him and his ever-present smile. Cruz has the unbridled optimism of someone who waited 5,567 days from the day he was drafted to his debut.
“One of the best human beings I’ve ever been around in a clubhouse,” Krall said
His split-finger fastball is one of the best pitches in the game, described by his catchers as looking like a knuckleball. Cruz simply calls it his “gift from God.”
Cruz threw it 41.9 percent of the time, so hitters knew it was coming, but still whiffed on 59.3 percent of those pitches.
Just as Trevino’s trade created a void at backup catcher for the Yankees, the Reds will need to replace a workhorse pitcher who appeared in a team-high 69 games, including three starts as an opener.
“You don’t want to take Fernando out of your bullpen, but we felt there was some scarcity in the catching market and the relief market there are more people available to bolster your bullpen,” Krall said.
The Reds signed Jackson to a minor-league deal in November. Jackson, who turns 29 on Christmas, is not much of a hitter, but he’s a well-above-average framer. Internally, J.C. Escarra is on the 40-man roster, and the Yankees are high on his potential.
(Photo of Jose Trevino: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)
