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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
The New York Yankees, in need of infield help with DJ LeMahieu beginning the season on the injured list, acquired veteran infielder Jon Berti from the Miami Marlins as part of a three-team trade on Wednesday, a source told ESPN, confirming multiple reports.
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.
“That’s why I think it was so important for us to get a guy like Jon Berti. He can not only be a starter in this league at a number of positions, but hopefully once you do get whole — which hopefully happens here early on — then you have an elite utility guy that can play a lot of different positions,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday.
“Before a few hours ago, I was concerned about our infield depth and our bench and how we were going to maneuver that a little bit. I feel like that improved a lot today,” Boone said.
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.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield contributed to this report.