Why Yankees’ trade for security blanket Jon Berti is a success
The Yankees did well in turning a piece that did not have a comfortable spot on their roster, Ben Rortvedt, into one whose skill set fits well in the moment for an in-the-moment team.
Jon Berti, even at 34, has retained his speed and versatility. He has started games in the majors at every position except first, catcher and pitcher. At this time, with DJ LeMahieu on the IL, he can either be the third baseman or be the right-hand portion of a platoon with switch-hitter Oswaldo Cabrera, who is much better from the left side.
With the Astros starting southpaw Framber Valdez in Thursday’s opener, it would not be surprising to see Berti starting at third after he was the Yankees’ portion of a three-team trade that sent Rortvedt to the Rays and prospects John Cruz (from the Yankees) and Shane Sasaki (from the Rays) to the Marlins.
A scout who covered the Marlins in spring training said of Berti, “He played well for me — the same all-around, reliable, winning player. Smart. Team-first. He can play all over the infield — he still has the arm for it.”
The Padres tried hard to acquire Berti at the trade deadline last season. But the Marlins had not made the playoffs in a 162-game season since winning the 2003 World Series. And Berti was central to last year’s team getting in as a wild card, starting 111 games at five positions and hitting a career-best .294 and adding 16 steals after leading the majors with 41 steals in 2022.
But Miami, with ace Sandy Alcantara out for the season and big questions about infield defense and overall offense, is a strong candidate to regress from 84 wins. And Berti is the kind of player, who in the words of another scout is better “for a good team than a bad one.”
He is a security blanket for the Yankees. A potential sub when needed in a variety of areas. A speed piece to use late in games — “trust me, he has not lost any athleticism,” another scout said.
Rortvedt did not have a role. The Yankees want Jose Trevino’s pitch-whispering defense and the upside of Austin Wells’ lefty bat as their catcher tandem. Rortvedt bats left, but is no threat as a hitter. He was a good enough catcher though that the Yankees thought they could get something for him in a trade — and they needed to deal him because Rortvedt was out of options and would not survive waivers if they tried to sneak him through to the minors.
Berti, who cannot be a free agent until after the 2025 campaign, feels like an excellent exchange for the back of the roster, especially because in Carlos Narvaez they feel they have the kind of defense-first catcher who could be promoted if either Trevino or Wells are injured. And because the Yanks were looking for this kind of multi-pronged player even before injuries to LeMahieu and Oswald Peraza. They made offers to Kiké Hernandez (who went to the Dodgers) and Amed Rosario (Rays).
They did not want to spend a lot on this and Berti is due $3.625 million in 2024 because they are at a luxury-tax position in which they have to pay 110 percent on every dollar added. Thus, Berti, all in, will cost them about $7.6 million.
But unlike the Marlins, the Yankees are a win-now team. They had a specific need for what someone such as Berti brings even before injuries thinned the left side of their infield in the present. So, turning a third catcher with no fit for a player who helps in a variety of right-now ways is a success for the Yankees.
