Previously criticized Brian Cashman trade has been a savior for 2026 Yankees

When the New York Yankees traded Jose Trevino for Fernando Cruz in December of 2024, emotions were rightfully mixed. Trevino had loved being a Yankee and thoroughly enjoyed his time in pinstripes, with the pinnacle coming with his 2022 All-Star selection. Cruz, meanwhile, was a relatively unknown reliever who didn't make his debut until his age-32 season and owned a 4.52 ERA.

At the time, the move seemed to be a way to clear a path for Austin Wells behind the plate, plus save some money around the margins. Trevino had an arbitration number of $3.425 million, whereas the pre-arb Cruz was set to make only $785,000. There was another reason for the trade, however, and that was Cruz's electric splitter.

While the Yankees' bullpen has been quite the hot topic, with fans taking aim at the shakiness of Camilo Doval and David Bednar's cardiac event-inducing performances and clamoring for trade deadline reinforcements, Cruz has been overlooked.

The 36-year-old right-hander has pitched to a 1.84 ERA this season over 32 appearances and 29 1/3 innings. As impressive as that is, it sells short the run he's currently on, as over his last 14 games Cruz has been darn near unhittable, giving up just one run over 15 1/3 innings while striking out 17 batters and posting a 0.72 WHIP. That includes him going 1 2/3 innings on June 9 against the Cleveland Guardians and notching four strikeouts to secure his first save since April of 2025

It's become clear that the Yankees fleeced the Reds in the Fernando Cruz-Jose Trevino trade

The under-the-hood numbers this year on Cruz are downright face-melting. The righty has posted a 42% whiff rate that ranks in the 99th percentile. Therefore, it's no wonder that he owns a 95th percentile 30.8% strikeout rate. In addition to the whiffs, he's racked up a ton of soft contact, posting a hard-hit rate of just 24.2% and an expected batting average of .185, which rank in the 98th and 95th percentiles, respectively.

Cruz isn't just generating whiffs either. Led by his devastating splitter, he leads the MLB in average miss distances at 5.6 inches. Second place is Seattle Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz, coming in a full inch less at 4.6 inches. Simply put, when Cruz is on, he's absolutely dominant.

Meanwhile, Trevino has been anything but. His All-Star selection came on the heels of a career-best offensive performance that was still only good for a 90 wRC+. The real reason he was so valuable in 2022 was his defensive performance, which produced an incredible 23 fielding run value over 820 innings behind the plate. Last year with Cincinnati, he managed just a fielding run value of one in 723 innings.

Trevino is still a quality defender, but his days of being among the best in the game are behind him. At the same time, his bat has fallen off steadily since 2022, and he produced a 66 wRC+ last season. This year, injuries have kept the backstop off the field for the majority of the year. He suffered from a back issue earlier in the year and is currently on the IL with a hamstring strain. He's appeared in just 14 games, slashing a pitiful .138/.167/.172.

To make matters worse for Cincinnati, they handed the 33-year-old an $11.5 million extension during last year's spring training that keeps him with the Reds through 2027, plus a $6.5 million club option (with a $1 million buyout) for 2028.

Whether or not the Yankees targeted Cruz because of his splitter and believed Matt Blake could unlock him, or if they got lucky, is unclear. What is clear is that Cruz has become a real weapon out of the 'pen, while Trevino is barely rosterable, making this a clear win for New York.

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