Need a catcher this holiday season? Call the Yankees.
As of Friday morning, the team had a whopping six backstops on its 40-man roster. The group, in no particular order, consists of Jose Trevino, Austin Wells, Kyle Higashioka, Carlos Narvaez, Ben Rortvedt and Agustin Ramírez.
There’s also Ben Rice. While he’s not on the 40-man roster yet, the prospect is coming off a breakout offensive season.
With so much depth behind the plate, Brian Cashman said the Yankees are receiving tons of interest in their surplus of catchers.
“It’s not a strong position in the game, or not a deep position in the game,” the GM said Thursday night at Covenant House’s annual Sleep Out event, which raises awareness for youth homelessness. “So a lot of teams are knocking on our door about our catching depth. It’s an area of strength for us.”
Of the names above, only Trevino, Wells, Higashioka and Rortvedt have major league experience. Trevino and Higashioka are both arbitration-eligible and are projected to make $2.7 million and $2.3 million, respectively.
However, the non-tender deadline is Friday at 8 p.m. While Trevino is likely a lock to be tendered, Higashioka’s path forward isn’t as clear. The Yankees could non-tender their longest-tenured player before the deadline. Then again, they could also tender and then trade Higashioka and/or part with other catchers.
That said, it would be surprising if Higashioka played for the Yankees next season. The team also won’t have six catchers on its 40-man roster by the time Opening Day rolls around.
BIG-GAME HUNTING
Cashman was asked if the Yankees are in a position to land one or more of the big names available this offseason. In free agency, that includes outfielder Cody Bellinger and Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. There’s also a chance the Padres trade Juan Soto.
“We’re always trying,” Cashman said. “We’re knocking on those doors. We’re having those conversations. I think Hal Steinbrenner and his family always run it the way that if there’s some opportunity that’s worth pushing through on, they’re always there to allow that to happen. But it’s really all about a team situation and how the collective all works together. So we’ll see how this winter plays out. But yeah, we’re gonna have conversations with the big ones and the small ones.”
Asked if Bellinger is a fit, Cashman avoided a direct answer.
“There’s a lot of free agents right now out there that could be a fit for us,” he said. “And certainly a lot of trade options that could be a fit for us as well.”
Cashman did say that he didn’t think his recent comments about Giancarlo Stanton would impact the Yankees’ pursuit of Yamamoto. The two players are represented by Joel Wolfe, who took issue with Cashman’s remarks. The GM has since cleared the air with Stanton and Wolfe.
COACHING SEARCHES
The Yankees are still looking for a bench coach after Carlos Mendoza left to become the Mets’ manager. Cashman said the team held an interview on Thursday, but he didn’t get into specifics.
“I’ll talk to [Aaron Boone] tomorrow and we’ll assess where we’re at currently out of the current candidates that we’ve evaluated versus the field that potentially is still available,” Cashman said. “We lost a good one in Mendy. The Mets got a really good one. But it just comes down to having someone that Boone wants next to him on that bench that can clearly run spring training, but more importantly, in-game strategies because the game moves really fast. So somebody who, obviously, is gonna be there to support the manager and take a lot off his plate because there’s so many departments to communicate with.
“This individual is the collector of all information and organizes it for Boonie, so it’s not an easy job.”
Cashman added that Boone will “carry the weight on that decision.”
The GM made a similar comment when it came to new hitting coach James Rowson deciding on his assistants. Casey Dykes and Brad Wilkerson held those jobs this past season under Dillon Lawson and Sean Casey, but it’s not clear if they will return.
Cashman said that Rowson is in the process of talking to them and candidates outside the organization about the assistant gigs.
“He’ll have his recommendations and then we’ll vet them,” Cashman said of Rowson, “but obviously he’s the director of that department. So ultimately, his voice is gonna carry the biggest weight.”
