Yankees trade Jose Trevino to Reds for Fernando Cruz, Alex Jackson

In a surprise trade late Friday, the Yankees added a high-octane bullpen arm, trimmed some salary and lost an elite pitch framer.

Jose Trevino, a 2022 All-Star and among the game’s best at making balls look like strikes, has been dealt to the Reds for righty Fernando Cruz and catcher Alex Jackson.

After his breakout first season with the Yankees when he arrived from the Rangers at the end of spring training, Trevino was mostly injured in 2023 and lost his starting job in 2024 when Austin Wells emerged as what appears to be The future of the Yankees. catching position.

Trevino was owed about $3.5 million in arbitration for 2025, which will be his walk year, and the Yankees can go cheaper on a backup and redirect the money elsewhere.

Jackson, a 28-year-old journeyman the Reds signed to a minor league deal, is well-regarded defensively but hasn’t hit in five major league seasons.

Cruz is the more significant part of the trade.

The Yankees’ bullpen often struggled to pile up strikeouts last season, and Cruz doesn’t struggle with missing bats.

Relying heavily on his splitter, Cruz struck out 109 in 66 ²/₃ innings last season (14.72 per nine innings).

He also walked 35 and pitched to a 4.86 ERA, making him another project for pitching coach Matt Blake.

Cruz is a three-year major leaguer, 34, but hasn’t even reached arbitration yet.

For several years, he can be optioned to the minor leagues, and the Yankees have four years of contractual control.

In this trade, the Yankees likely traded for a higher ceiling but gave away a high-floor player in Trevino.

Pitchers love to throw to Trevino, who is excellent at hitting and blocking potential wild pitches, but has a throwing arm that was often exposed last season.

At the plate, Trevino had yet to approach the heights of his first half of ’22, owning a .611 OPS in ’23 and ’24.