MLB trade grades: Yankees flip fan favorite for the next potential bullpen gem

It may not have been the splash that New York Yankees fans were hoping for on Friday, but Brian Cashman did manage to make a move after all. Catcher Jose Trevino is on the move, heading to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for righty reliever Fernando Cruz and Minor League catcher Alex Jackson.

Trevino became a fan favorite almost immediately after the Yankees acquired him from the Texas Rangers in April of 2022, establishing himself as an excellent pitch framer with a knack for delivering clutch hits. But injuries derailed him in each of the past two seasons, and his bat became a liability, posting a measly 70 OPS+ in 128 games across 2023 and 2024. He also struggled to control opponent running games, including a whopping nine steals allowed against the Boston Red Sox this past June.

Cruz has appeared in 141 games for the Reds over the past three seasons. The quality of his stuff is not in question; he's got a 13.9 K/9 in his career. But command issues have plagued him in the Majors, with an unsightly walk rate getting him into trouble. Jackson signed with Cincinnati back in November, his fifth organization since being drafted sixth overall by the Seattle Mariners back in 2014. He's appeared in 124 games in his MLB career, hitting just .132.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work onThe Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

MLB Trade Grades: Did Yankees find their next Clay Holmes in trade with Reds?

Yankees grade: A-

No, it won't singlehandedly solve all of New York's problems, but its hard not to feel good about this deal if you're a Yankees fan. Trevino had worn out his welcome given his weak bat and his inability to keep running games in check, especially after rule changes made stolen bases a much more significant part of the game. He had just one year of team control remaining, and with the emergence of Austin Wells in 2024, it was clear he was going to be much more a 1B than a 1A this season; his framing behind the plate will be missed, but a defense-first backup simply isn't all that hard to find.

Cruz, on the other hand, has the potential to be a legitimate difference-maker. We saw the magic that Matt Blake and this pitching development staff can work on anonymous NL Central relievers with big stuff and iffy command, having turned Clay Holmes from an afterthought with the Pittsburgh Pirates into an All-Star closer. And they could well do the same with Cruz, who pairs an upper-90s heater with one of the most explosive splitters in all of baseball.

Getting a guy with that sort of potential, who still has four years of team control remaining, is a tidy bit of business, especially considering how badly the Yankees need swing-and-miss in the back-end of their bullpen even after the trade of Devin Williams.

Reds grade: D

For the Reds, meanwhile ... well, they did not someone to take a little wear and tear off of Tyler Stephenson, and Trevino certainly does that, providing a nice glove-first counterpoint to Stephenson's offensive profile. But from a value perspective, this doesn't seem to make all that much sense: We know what Trevino is, and it's not a profile that should be worth paying all that much for via trade. If Cincy is just done trying to get the most out of Cruz, that's understandable, but it's hard to believe that this was the most any team was willing to pay for the righty's services.

And it's not like the Reds are overflowing with bullpen arms in their own right, especially with closer Alexis Diaz coming off a down season. The best-case scenario for Trevino is one year of a perfectly acceptable timeshare at catcher, getting somewhere near league-average at the plate and handling a young pitching staff well. Cruz's ceiling, on the other hand, is the roof, and giving up on that without getting upside in return is a head-scratcher.