TAMPA — As Gerrit Cole took the mound for his first (and only) Grapefruit League start on March 1, class was in session inside the Yankees’ dugout.
Jose Trevino, at the time still working his way back from a calf strain, was saddled up on the dugout railing next to Will Warren, Clayton Beeter and Chase Hampton, three of the Yankees’ top pitching prospects.
The veteran catcher was giving the young trio some insight on the way Cole prepares for a start and then talking through different situations that came up throughout the reigning AL Cy Young winner’s outing.
Trevino, who has earned Cole’s trust and admiration through catching him during the past two seasons, also wanted to know what Warren, Beeter and Hampton would throw in certain counts while offering some advice on reading hitters’ swings.
“We’re all planning on being here at the end of all this, so having a guy like Trevy — he’s a Platinum Glove catcher — so having him, picking his brain and him giving us information, he’s been around for a long time,” Warren said a few days later. “Just any way to get more knowledgeable about the game is always a good thing.”
Trevino has been intentional in beginning to build that connection with the Yankees’ young pitchers this spring. It stands to help them in their development as pitchers but also get a head start on the relationships that will be important for whenever they arrive in The Bronx — which could be sooner than later, especially in the case of Warren, who has a strong chance to break camp as the team’s fifth starter with Cole injured.
“You like to have those conversations with them, especially at some point if we need them in New York,” Trevino said. “Just kind of get ahead of that curve. It’s good to be here in spring training with them and learn from them. They have so much knowledge, those young guys, so much information and learning from them, what they like and what they like to do. Most importantly, getting to know them as a person and build that relationship.”
information to become a better pitcher. Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports
Early in camp, Trevino made a point to sit down with each of the young pitchers and talk about their stuff.
Trevino wanted to know more about them and their approaches, but he came prepared, too — which is little surprise for a catcher who has a notebook full of information and game plans for the pitchers he works with during the season.
“We sat down before my first game,” Hampton said. “He was like, ‘Hey, you have a really good heater, you have a really good cutter, really good slider, and you have a really good curveball. How can we make that better?’ ”
Trevino suggested Hampton use his curveball on right-handed hitters more often, which turned into a focus this spring for the 22-year-old right-hander who could start the season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Beeter’s biggest takeaway from Trevino has been trusting his stuff in the zone.
Trevino set up the initial meeting with Beeter this spring, but the 25-year-old right-hander has been able to tap back into that well often.
“He’ll watch my outings with me or he’ll watch the games with me and come up and ask me questions during the game,” Beeter said. “He’s been awesome. Just the amount of times he’s sat down with me and been willing to talk and eager and just treated me like he has confidence in me, it’s been really good for me to hear.”
Trevino was slowed early in camp by the calf issue, but before he returned to games last week, he was still making his impact felt around camp through his work with pitchers — regardless of whether they were going to make the Opening Day roster.
The Yankees have valued Trevino’s presence with their pitching staff over the years, not just for his defensive metrics but also for the rapport he builds with those pitchers in between starts.
This spring, their younger pitchers have gotten a taste of that firsthand.
“It’s been huge,” pitching coach Matt Blake said. “He takes such a strong leadership role amongst both the players on his side, the catching side, and the pitching side. I think he knows how valuable it is just to have someone help shepherd them through transitioning to the major leagues.
“The biggest thing is just getting them comfortable so that when they come up, they can be themselves and they know that he knows them and it’s not a guessing game. His ability to make them at ease that he’ll help them through the process is huge.”
While Hampton has since been reassigned to minor league camp, Warren and Beeter are still around in the final week of spring training with the fifth starter spot up for grabs.
They both have experience pitching in the minors to Austin Wells, who is expected to be the other half of the Yankees’ catching tandem this season, but have also benefited this spring from the tutelage of Trevino.
“You see potential in those guys,” Trevino said. “You see what they can do in their careers. It’s fun to see. Just to watch them on film and finally get a feeling for them, catch their bullpens and stuff like that, it’s huge. I think they’re going to do great things.”
