Jose Trevino's 2024 rebound has saved the Yankees in a number of ways

It’s easy to look at flashy home run highlights and forget about the little plays that add up over the course of a season.

The Yankees have certainly had their share of momentous home runs thanks to Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, but Jose Trevino’s crafty play behind the plate and approach in the batter’s box have helped the Bombers in ways that go behind the highlight reel.

After missing the majority of last season due to a wrist injury, Trevino has started 2024 on the right track. According to Baseball Savant, he ranks in the 95th percentile in Fielding Run Value and has a league-high four Catcher Framing Runs.

Trevino’s excellence behind the plate is not surprising. Even though he struggled in this department last year, he was the 2022 American League Platinum Glove recipient and has largely built his Yankees’ reputation on reliable defense.

From a strategic standpoint, having a catcher like Trevino on the roster is a major advantage.His framing helped the Yankees during the 2022 postseason and will surely continue to aid the overall staff, which has the best team ERA in MLB so far.

Such tendencies are surely part of what the Yankees hope Austin Wells learns from the seasoned veteran. Wells has been lauded for his offensive potential, but some have wondered whether or not he’ll be able to adjust his defense to the big league level. 

Wells has gotten more opportunities this season to show off his defensive prowess, and he’s improved both his framing and blocking. Even if Trevino didn’t “show him the ropes,” his presence must have encouraged Wells to work on a part of his game that needed improvement as a way of earning Boone’s trust at the position.    

Jose Trevino has also been a serviceable hitter this season for the Yankees

Offensively, Trevino has been about as good as one would possibly expect him to be. Through his first 32 games of the season, he’s recorded a .284 batting average and .772 OPS. His 11.7 K% is down from a 13.1% mark last season and a 17.6% figure from his 2022 All-Star season. Additionally, his 15.5 whiff% is the third-best on the team.

At the very least, the Oral Roberts product is not an automatic out. As long as he continues to string together competitive at-bats without abandoning his defensive duties, he’s doing exactly what the Yankees need him to do. As far as 2024 is concerned, Trevino has lived up to expectations, and has actually saved them from being more reliant on a struggling Wells.