Source: Yankees acquire Jon Berti in trade with Marlins, Rays
The Marlins will receive two outfield prospects in exchange — John Cruz from the Yankees and Shane Sasaki from the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays will get catcher Ben Rortvedt from the Yankees, the source said. LeMahieu, the Yankees’ every-day third baseman and expected leadoff hitter, was recently placed on the IL because of a bruised right foot, leaving Oswaldo Cabrera and now Berti as fill-in options.
Berti, 34, didn’t establish himself in the big leagues until his age-29 season in 2019. Since then, he has batted .258/.338/.367 with 23 home runs and 91 stolen bases in 432 games for the Marlins, splitting his time rather evenly between second base, third base and shortstop.
Once LeMahieu returns — perhaps before the end of April — Berti would fill the Yankees’ offseason-long desire to add a backup infielder. The team was previously in on Enrique Hernandez and Amed Rosario, among others.
Rortvedt, who is out of options, addresses a major need for the Rays, who previously had only one catcher, presumed starter Rene Pinto, on their 40-man roster.
Rortvedt is a 26-year-old left-handed hitter with 71 games of major league experience, during which he has managed only a .489 OPS.
Sasaki, 23, was drafted in the third round in 2019 and hasn’t played past the Class A levels. Cruz, 18, was signed out of the Dominican Republic and spent last season in rookie ball.