The Yankees continued to adjust their roster on December 20 with a three-player transaction with the Reds. Fernando Cruz, the strikeout leader among relievers in 2024, was acquired via trade by the Yankees. As part of the deal, the Reds acquired former Platinum Glove winner, catcher Jose Trevino.

The Yankees’ Return

• RP Fernando Cruz (4.86 ERA, 109 K over 66.2 IP)
• C Alex Jackson (.122/.201/.237, 3 HR and 10 XBH over 58 G)

With all of the dominant relievers present in Major League Baseball, the one who struck out the most batters last season turned out to be Fernando Cruz, a sixth-round pick all the way back in the 2007 MLB Draft.

Cruz didn’t throw a pitch in affiliated baseball until 2011 and his career took him around Latin America, as well as New Jersey in the CanAm League. He eventually made his MLB debut in 2022 with the Reds as a 32-year-old and he’s had incredible success as a middle reliever and setup man.

He struck out 98 in 2023, then 109 in 2024. Those 109 strikeouts beat out Josh Hader (105) for most strikeouts by a reliever (min. 80% as RP) in baseball.

It’s a three-pitch mix for Cruz, and he’ll use all three pitches against either lefties or righties. Cruz will work the glove-side half of the zone with a high-80s cutter. He’ll work with a mid-90s fastball with above-average IVB (16.9”) and plus extension, making it play up. However, the best piece to his arsenal is the splitter.

Cruz’s split-finger fastball is a boondoggle, to say the least. It’s a low-80s pitch that sits around 12 MPH slower than his fastball and has below-average arm-side run. When it’s humming, he can induce above-average drop on the pitch but that’s not really the whole story.

His splitter has well-below-average run and almost looks like it’s cutting at times (as seen above), making it more a pitch that’s affected by seam-shifted wake. As seen on the pitch movement map, his splitter moves towards the arm side -5.0” than the league average.

The erratic movement, coupled with drop, has worked for Cruz. It resulted in a Whiff% of 59.3% in 2024, meaning he induced a swing-and-miss almost 60% of the time a hitter opts to swing.

Command of his stuff is the sticking point with Cruz. He walked batters 12.2% of the time in 2024 and when hitters made contact off him, damage was done. Cruz’s 9.8% Barrel% was in the 13th percentile (per Statcast).

Cruz has three more years of control. However, he’ll be 35 on March 28.

The other piece going to New York (AL) is ex-Rays catcher Alex Jackson. Those who read our primer on the Mariners’ best and worst draft picks of the last decade piece are familiar with Jackson, the former sixth overall pick who showed mammoth power at times but a ton of swing-and-miss.

That was indeed the case in 2024 with the Rays, as he struck out 34.2% of the time last season. The 28-year-old is a depth catching option heading into 2025.

The Reds’ Return

• C Jose Trevino (.215/.288/.354, 8 HR and 13 XBH over 73 G)

The Yankees acquired Jose Trevino in April 2022 for two players from the Rangers, one of those being Albert Albreu. In those three years, Trevino had his ups but also lost playing time as his tenure rolled on.

Trevino was a AL All-Star in 2022 thanks to a .714 OPS in the first half and plus defense. However, that was Trevino’s highest point as a Yankee. The 32-year-old never played more than 80 games in a season after 2022. He also lost significant playing time in 2024 with the presence of Austin Wells.

The 32-year-old’s bat has never been a plus. However, Trevino is a very good receiver and framer. Per Statcast, Trevino ranked in the 88th percentile in Blocks Above Average (+7) and 95th percentile in framing.

The former Platinum Glove winner has one year of control left before free agency. He made $2.73MM in 2024.

Analysis

The Reds had to pick up a catcher this offseason. Tyler Stephenson is the only catcher currently on the 40-man roster and last season, played more games behind the plate (127) than any other catcher in baseball.

That pace likely won’t keep in 2025. The Reds wanted to control Tyler Stephenson’s workload behind the plate, dating back to 2023. However, Cincinnati needed him to play out of necessity, as Luke Maile (.520 OPS) wasn’t an effective backup from an offensive point of view.

Trevino, at the very least, will give the Reds a reliable backup. And, it can give their new manager more options as far as lineup construction goes, as Stephenson — a good hitter in his own right — could get more work as a DH.

As for the Yankees. New York (AL) adds yet another reliever to their roster. The Yankees re-signed Jonathan Loaisiga a few weeks ago, and then swung a massive trade for Brewers closer Devin Williams. Not to mention, the Yankees still have Ian Hamilton and Mark Leiter Jr. on their roster.

The Yankees could still use a left-handed reliever. However, that shouldn’t diminish this move. Cruz’s arsenal is different compared to what Williams, Luke Weaver, and the rest bring. He doesn’t throw from the same arm angle, making him a good arm to give hitters a different look. And, his splitter is a dangerous weapon.

He should slot in as one of several options to get hitters out in the sixth, seventh, or eighth innings for Aaron Boone.