Yankees trade another catcher to AL East rival in minor-league shuffle

At the start of spring, the Yankees' backup catcher role seemed destined to come down to a battle of experience vs. upside. Would the Yankees choose Alex Jackson, the former Braves top prospect turned scuffling MLB hitter (who only seemed to have solved Nestor Cortes Jr. in 2024, homering off him in a year with the Rays where he hit .122)? Or would they go with the unknown in JC Escarra, whose bat seemed to present advantages that Jackson's didn't?

Ultimately, the Yankees bucked tradition and let spring training performance dictate their next steps rather than defaulting to the easier path; Jackson went down to Triple-A, and Escarra rose to the bigs. By and large, the move has been a success, and Jackson met his somewhat inevitable fate on Sunday morning.

Nobody trades more catchers than the Yankees, with Carlos Narvaez (Boston), Agustin Ramirez (Miami), and Jose Trevino (Cincinnati) all currently occupying starting jobs across MLB. Even Ben Rortvedt, who cleared outright waivers, remains in Tampa's system after some big-league success last season.

Now, they can add Jackson to that list; on Sunday, he was flipped to Baltimore in exchange for international signing bonus pool money ... and potentially another player ... or potentially cash.

Yankees trade catcher Alex Jackson to Baltimore Orioles for international signing bonus money

Added in the Trevino-Fernando Cruz trade, Jackson didn't appear in an MLB game for the Yankees during the regular season, but hit .226 with 10 homers and a .772 OPS in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

The Yankees saw the Orioles in desperation mode, and took advantage of the (admittedly minimal) opportunity. Adley Rutschman remains on the IL, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. injured Orioles backup Maverick Handley with a hard slide two weeks back. When Gary Sánchez was removed from Saturday's game with a knee issue, that left Baltimore with Jacob Stallings and ... no backup. Jackson could earn an immediate MLB opportunity after a few months of toiling anonymously with the Yankees. Not a bad gig, if you can get it.

As for International Bonus Pool Money's next steps? The Yankees could use some more success in that department, and every dollar helps.