The Yankees bolstered their catching depth on Saturday evening, trading away a couple of young arms in the process.
The team announced Saturday that they’ve acquired veteran catcher Jose Trevino from the Texas Rangers in exchange for right-hander pitcher Albert Abreu and left-handed pitcher Robert Ahlstrom.
Trevino, 29, has played parts of four seasons in the bigs, all with Texas, slashing .245/.270/.364 with nine home runs and 55 RBI in 156 career games.
He figures to open the regular season as the Yankees backup catcher behind Kyle Higashioka. Ben Rortvedt, who came over to the Yankees in the Josh Donaldson deal that sent Gary Sanchez to the Twins, is dealing with an oblique injury and could start the season on the Injured List.
Abreu, a 26-year-old who was out of minor league options, was the key prospect piece in the 2016 deal that sent Brian McCann to the Houston Astros. He appeared in two games for the Yankees in the 2020 season before taking on a larger bullpen role in 2021, when he appeared in 28 games, pitching 36.2 innings while allowing 21 earned runs (5.15 ERA) with 35 strikeouts and 19 walks.
Ahlstrom, a 21-year-old lefty, was drafted by the Yankees in seventh round of the 2021 draft out of the University of Oregon.