Yankees giving away standout catcher to Mets for nothing looks worse every day

Once upon a time, the New York Yankees had too many catchers in need of 40-man roster spots during spring training 2024. They resolved the crunch of their own making by shipping Ben Rortvedt to Tampa Bay in a three-team whirlwind just before Opening Day, netting Jon Berti in exchange. Berti could theoretically be a helpful piece for the Yankees down the stretch, if they can stay relevant and he can stay healthy, but Rortvedt has outperformed Yankees catcher Jose Trevino offensively and defensively, and only Austin Wells' recent hot streak has saved him from side-eye.

Luckily, that cleared up the Yankees' catching logjam once and for all -- oh, no, wait, they still had Carlos Narvaez at the upper levels of the minors on the 40-man roster, as well as top prospect Agustin Ramirez protected below. The Yankees left themselves with one too many catchers in Scranton, and solved their impending problem as any team would: randomly selling a veteran catcher to their neighbors, the New York Mets, for pocket change.

On May 31, the Yankees shipped Luis Torrens to the Mets, who were drowning and clawing for air at the time. Meanwhile, the Yankees possessed one of MLB's top records. What did they care if the Mets got marginally better while they solved a roster conundrum in the high minors? The season was already over!

Meanwhile, the Yankees' June Swoon has since bled into July, with the newly minted worst loss of the season nullifying some joyful progress in the first two games of the Baltimore series. The Mets, on the other hand, fueled by 105 different varieties of good luck trinkets, from Jose Iglesias to Grimace, have surged into Wild Card position. Torrens has been a big part of the revolution, hitting .283 with an .881 OPS in 18 games.

The Yankees? They could use an experienced catcher, calling on Narvaez to fill a backup role while Trevino battles a significant quad strain. Oh well. You know what they say. It's always better to thin out depth for fun while you have it because you'll never need it.

And oh, right, Torrens has it going on defensively, too. The Sunday Night Baseball game that tipped the Yankees-Red Sox scales this season would've looked a lot different with this cannon behind the dish.

Yankees messed up selling Luis Torrens to Mets for whatever reason

Trevino's been a dawg for the Yankees since 2022, exemplified by his hustle to enter Friday night's fracas with the O's after freshly injuring his leg. Still, he was miscast as a starter by an All-Star first half in 2022, and should've been viewed since then as a capable, expendable backup.

Now, Torrens' emergence has proven that the Yankees can, and should, do better in that role, too. If only they had a player like the one they handed to the Mets as a goof during the Amazins' short-lived cold stretch.