Rays acquire C Ben Rortvedt from Yankees in 3-team deal

Tampa Bay trades Top-30 prospect OF Shane Sasaki

The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired catcher Ben Rortvedt from the New York Yankees as part of a three-team trade that also involved the Miami Marlins. The Rays will be sending outfielder Shane Sasaki, who was recently voted the 27th best prospect in the system by the Draysbay community, to the Marlins; meanwhile, the Marlins and Yankees are swapping infielder Jon Berti for pitcher John Cruz.

Considered an elite defender, Rortvedt has gotten limited playing time over the last two seasons — 2022 with the Twins, and following a trade, 2023 with the Yankees — due to various injuries. He’s got serious power, having topped out at 111 mph EV, and is generally a low-chase, pull hitter from the left side.

Rortvedt is out of minor league options, but appeared to be third on the Yankees depth chart after former first rounder Austin Wells and the return of former primary catcher Jose Trevino from injury. NJ.com interviewed Yankees director of catcher Tanner Swanson, a former Twins coach who was an early adopter of coaching one-knee down and pitch framing, on Rortvedt’s situation earlier this week:

“I know he can help a major league roster,” Swanson said of Rortvedt. “He’s a major league quality catcher. He’s proven that.”

“Ben’s a great catcher,” Trevino added. “He’s prepared. He’s ready to go. His work ethic is amazing. He’s got all the tools.”

[nj.com]

In his brief big league experience, Rortvedt has hit .146/.234/.255 with 5 HR over 177 plate appearances split between the Twins and Yankees. Meanwhile, between three levels in the Yankees farm system last season, Rortvedt hit .291/.403/.513 with 6 HR over 139 plate appearances.

Shane Sasaki was selected by the Rays in the 3rd round of the 2019 draft. A talented outfielder from Hawaii, Sasaki possessed the kind of tools that scouts dream about. Unfortunately, he has struggled to remain healthy. Sasaki just reached High-A in his third minor league season in 2023, where he hit .301/.375/.465 with 7 HR and collected 12 stolen bases in 64 games. Sasaki would have been Rule-5 eligible at the end of the season.

The Rays Opening Day roster is nearly completely fleshed out now as Steve Carney reported earlier today that infielder Austin Shenton has made the team. Meanwhile, the acquisition of Rortvedt indicates that Alex Jackson will in Triple-A Durham.

It seems the Rays are still determining whether to have top prospect Curtis Mead or newly acquired Niko Goodrum as their 26th man. The 2024 roster does not need to be finalized until noon tomorrow.