22 July 2023
Yankees catcher Jose Trevino is set to undergo season-ending surgery on a tear in his right wrist that’s ailed him all season, he revealed Friday.
Trevino says the injury stems from spring training and was a matter of pain tolerance he could no longer endure.
“I knew what I was getting myself into,” Trevino said before Friday’s game at Yankee Stadium against the Royals. “I knew at some point that it was going to come to a point where I couldn’t take the pain anymore.”
The tear is in Trevino’s triangular fibrocartilage complex, a load-bearing structure. To replace him, the Yankees brought up catcher Ben Rortvedt, who played five games during a call-up in May.
Trevino says the wrist injury bothered him when he hit and threw. After hitting .248 with a career-high 11 home runs during an All-Star 2022 season, Trevino batted just .210 with four homers this year.
“I’m not one for excuses,” Trevino said. “I was out there playing. I was out there trying to do my job. Did it have an impact on me? Yeah, for sure, I felt it. I felt it, but I was the one that said I’m good to go.”
Trevino, whom the Yankees acquired from the Texas Rangers before the 2022 season, expects to be ready for spring training. The 30-year-old, who last played Monday, had not previously disclosed he was dealing with a serious injury, and manager Aaron Boone said last week that Trevino was dealing with typical catcher wear-and-tear.
Trevino had been the primary catcher for Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who has a 9-2 record and 2.78 ERA this season. Trevino shared catching duties with Kyle Higashioka, whom Boone expects to now split time with Rortvedt.
Rortvedt, 25, joined the Yankees last year in the same trade with the Twins that brought Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. The lefty-hitting Rortvedt battled injuries throughout the 2022 season. He had two hits in seven at-bats during his May stint.
“He’s done a great job [at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre] this year, swinging the bat well and a really good defender,” Boone said. “His call-up earlier … we finally got to see him in some games up here and he did a really good job for us. Excited to get him in the mix. Obviously, really bummed for Trevy. I know how much this hurts.”
Catcher Austin Wells, who is one of the Yankees’ top prospects, was called up to Triple-A on Friday.
JUDGE CONTINUES PROGRESS
Aaron Judge is set to face reliever Jonathan Loaisiga during a live bullpen session Sunday, which could help the Yankees determine a timeline for the slugger’s return from an injured right big toe.
The reigning AL MVP took batting practice and did outfield drills Friday at Yankee Stadium, two days after running the bases for the first time since suffering a torn ligament on a June 3 catch that took him into the right field wall field at Dodger Stadium.
Judge doesn’t expect to be pain-free when he returns, but the injury doesn’t bother him much when he’s running forward or backward, he said.
“It’s more like the agility, the quick movement, side to side, really pushing off the ball of that foot where most of the pain comes,” Judge said.
Judge said he hopes to play the outfield once he’s back.
The Yankees haven’t decided whether Judge will require minor-league rehab games before he returns, but Sunday could “potentially” help determine his timeline, Boone said Friday.
BADER DOING WELL
Center fielder Harrison Bader felt good two days after he left Wednesday’s game against the Angels with bruised ribs following a hit-by-pitch, Boone said.
Team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad examined Bader on Thursday, and the Gold Glove winner was set to get additional treatment Friday.
“He walked in my office first thing today when he got there, said, ‘I’m available and feeling pretty good,’” Boone said Friday. “We’ll just kind of [go] day-by-day with him.”
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