Cincinnati Reds Trade Fernando Cruz to New York Yankees for Catcher Jose Trevino | Chatterbox Reds

Cincinnati Reds Trade Fernando Cruz to New York Yankees for Catcher Jose Trevino | Chatterbox Reds

Nick Kirby and Craig Sandlin provide INSTANT REACTION to the Cincinnati Reds trade of Fernando Cruz and Alex Jackson for Jose Trevino. Did the Reds overpay for a backup catcher, or did they sell an aging reliever at the right time? Does this signify other moves on the horizon for the Reds this off-season?

Chatterbox Reds is your home for coverage all season long for the Cincinnati Reds with LIVE postgame shows after EVERY game on YouTube, and NEW podcasts the morning after every game (including weekends)! SUBSCRIBE to the channel and turn on notifications to ensure you never miss a thing!

Join us in the Chat during the LIVE broadcasts, and we will do our best to answer any questions that you might have!

PODCAST LINKS:

Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast…
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3jlFDPP…
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/733…
Google Podcast: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0…
iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/109483256
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/chatter…
Castbox: https://castbox.fm/channel/id5327101?…
Player FM: https://player.fm/series/3450767

DSC COMMODITIES: https://deepsouthcommodities.com/

CALL OR TEXT 988 FOR HELP DAY OR NIGHT: https://mantherapy.org/get-help/national-resources/164/lifeline-crisis-chat

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

Nick Kirby: https://twitter.com/Nicholaspkirby
Trace Fowler: https://twitter.com/CBoxTrace
Craig Sandlin: https://x.com/Craig_Sandlin
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cboxsports
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cboxsports/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CBoxSports

Yankees, Reds Swap Jose Trevino For Fernando Cruz
By Anthony Franco

9:20pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that reliever Fernando Cruz and non-roster catcher Alex Jackson are headed back to New York.

Trevino is on the move for the second time in his career. The Yankees landed him from the Rangers shortly after Opening Day 2022 in a deal that sent reliever Albert Abreu to Arlington. That was a win for the New York front office, as Trevino developed into a quality defensive catcher in the Bronx. Abreu, on the other hand, pitched seven times with the Rangers before they lost him on waivers.

The 2022 season has been Trevino’s best. He appeared in a career-high 115 games, hitting .248/.283/.388 through 353 plate appearances. Trevino led all catchers with 21 Defensive Runs Saved that season, earning an All-Star selection and a Gold Glove in the process.

Trevino has opened each of the past two years as New York’s primary catcher. His playing time and offensive production have dropped, though he continues to grade very highly for his receiving skills. Trevino has only appeared in 129 games over the past two years. In 2023, that was largely the result of a ligament tear in his right wrist that necessitated season-ending surgery in July.

The 32-year-old stayed mostly heathy this past season. He missed a month between the All-Star Break and the middle of August because of a quad strain. Trevino was otherwise on the active roster but quickly fell into a depth role. Rookie of the Year finalist Austin Wells is a superior offensive player who grades as an elite receiving catcher in his own right.

Trevino was limited to 62 starts behind the plate overall. He’d basically become a non-factor by the end of the year, as he appeared in just 14 games between his return from the injured list on August 15 and the end of the regular season. He only got two starts during the Yankees’ run to the World Series. He took 234 trips to the plate and hit .215/.288/.354 with eight home runs.

Part of the dip in playing time has been attributable to Trevino’s difficulty controlling the running game. According to Statcast, only Yasmani Grandal had a higher average pop time (throw time to second base on stolen base attempts) than Trevino’s 2.07 second mark. Opponents swiped 57 bases out of 70 attempts in his 544 1/3 innings behind the plate. Trevino continues to grade exceptionally highly for his framing skills and blocking ability, so he remains a valuable defender overall, but the subpar arm strength has become an issue.

The Reds evidently placed a lot of value on those receiving skills. Trevino should back up Tyler Stephenson, who hit .258/.338/.44 with a career-high 19 homers this past season. Stephenson started 112 games and tallied a little more than 1000 innings.

Trevino has over five years of service time. MLTBR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a $3.4MM salary during his first trip through the arbitration process. Taking that on pushes their projected payroll to $104MM (courtesy of RosterResource). The Reds ended the ’23 campaign with a payroll around $100MM and have indicated they’re comfortable matching or exceeding that number next season.