Yankees News: Dodgers part with former catcher, Max Fried Cy Young, Ben Rice

A former New York Yankees catcher who just won a World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers has already found a new team. Sorry, Yankees fans, you must now be reminded of the Josh Donaldson trade from 2022.

Ben Rortvedt, 28, was DFA'd by the Dodgers after the 2025 season. He was claimed off waivers on Nov. 12 by the Cincinnati Reds, effectively ending his time in LA as a formidable backup to Will Smith throughout the Dodgers' performance down the stretch and throughout the playoffs.

Rortvedt was the Dodgers' starting catcher for much of September due to the two catchers ahead of him on the depth chart — Will Smith and Dalton Rushing — missing time with injuries. He hit .224 with one homer in 18 games while holding down the catcher position for the champs during a time of need.

Rortvedt was selected at No. 56 overall by the Minnesota Twins in the 2016 MLB Draft. He spent two years with the Yankees (2022-23), but health issues limited him to just 32 games during that stretch.

Yankees News: Max Fried finishes fourth in Cy Young voting, Ben Rice entering new role

Yankees ace Max Fried finished fourth in American League Cy Young Award voting for the 2025 season, it was announced on Wednesday. Fried received six third-place votes, 20 fourth-place votes, and three fifth-place votes. Detroit Tigers' Tarik Skubal took home the award for the second consecutive season. Skubal received 26 first-place votes and four second-place votes.

Boston Red Sox's Garrett Crochet finished second in the voting (four first-place votes, 26 second-place votes), and Houston Astros' Hunter Brown finished third (24 third-place votes).

Yankees starter Carlos Rodón finished sixth in the voting, receiving two fourth-place votes and one fifth-place vote.

The main story here for the Yanks is Fried, however, who overcame a difficult couple of months in the summer and ended up rounding into top form during the season's stretch run. This was the third time in Fried's career that he's finished in the top five in Cy Young voting. The other two occasions (2020 and 2022) came when Fried was pitching in the National League for the Atlanta Braves.

The Yankees are hoping that Fried can build upon his All-Star season in 2025 and get even more comfortable for his sophomore Yankees campaign in 2026.

Speaking of comfortable, Yankees slugger Ben Rice has looked more and more so at the plate over the course of his 188 games in pinstripes. It has him on the brink of legitimate stardom.

And according to new comments from Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, Rice should get comfortable with the idea of playing every day. "I view Ben Rice as having an everyday role in the big leagues for us next year," Cashman told Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.

Will Rice's everyday duties involve first base, catching, or a combination of both? Time will tell, and Cashman's roster moves over the next few months will certainly dictate Rice's 2026 assignment. Either way, fans should be happy as this was one of their wishes early on in the 2025 campaign before Rice continued to get better and better.