When the Yankees acquired Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the Marlins on July 27, catching prospect Agustín Ramírez headlined the return to Miami.
With that, the Bombers dealt a receiver for the fourth time since December. The team also traded Kyle Higashioka to the Padres in the Juan Soto blockbuster, Ben Rortvedt to the Rays, and Luis Torrens to the Mets.
And yet, catching director Tanner Swanson remains high on the organization’s positional depth.
“There’s more guys coming that we feel really good about,” he told the Daily News. “It allows us to make these moves because we feel like we got guys behind them.”
Swanson was not referring to the Yankees’ major league backstops, a group that includes the blossoming Austin Wells, Carlos Narvaez and Jose Trevino, who is out with a quad strain. The organization still believes Ben Rice, learning and playing first base, can be a big league quality catcher.
Instead, Swanson was talking about prospects like Jesus Rodriguez (Double-A), Omar Martinez (High-A), and Rafael Flores (Double-A), though Somerset lists the latter as a first baseman. Swanson even mentioned journeyman J.C Escarra (Triple-A) as “a guy people shouldn’t sleep on.”
Flores, ranked 25th, is the only one on the Yankees’ most recent top-30 prospects list, per MLB.com. Edgleen Perez and Engelth Urena, two teenage rookie-level catchers, are also on the list.
While none of these guys are necessarily close to making their MLB debuts – Escarra is technically next in line in the event of another injury – the Yankees have demonstrated an ability to develop and deal from a surplus of catchers. Meanwhile, the players they’ve traded have benefited as well.
Higashioka was the first odd man out after his playing time dwindled late last season. Rortvedt is having a career year in Tampa Bay and Torrens is getting regular at-bats across town.
Ramírez, meanwhile, is no longer in an organization where his future is blocked by other young catchers.
“It’s always tough to see people move on,” Swanson said. “But usually through these circumstances, they’re moving on for better opportunities in organizations where maybe there’s a clearer path to the big leagues. So there’s a sense of pride in that and seeing guys that you’ve built relationships with move on and have clearer paths to realize their ultimate goals and dreams.
“In one sense, you’re happy for the player. In another sense, it is a positive reflection of our development system.”
Asked if he takes personal pride in the Yankees’ catching development and helping the team acquire players like Soto and Chisholm, Swanson deflected.
He made sure to highlight vice president of domestic amateur scouting Damon Oppenheimer, vice president of player development Kevin Reese, defensive coordinator Aaron Gershenfeld and minor league instructors.
“I think we’re doing something right,” Swanson emphasized. “I’d be really slow to take credit for the work. Even though I have a role in this, there’s a lot of people who are much more hands-on, day-to-day.
“There’s a lot of people who are pushing the right buttons and working really hard to figure out how we can make these players better. They certainly deserve a lot more credit than me.”
Originally Published:
