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CLEVELAND — The Yankees got an unexpected second straight day off on Friday with the postponement of their series opener against the Guardians.
Before they get back to trying to build on their 10-3 start, here’s a look around the club after two weeks of games, one rainout and a doubleheader on tap for Saturday at Progressive Field:
The catching tandem
Through 13 games, the Yankees had a near even-split between Austin Wells and Jose Trevino behind the plate, with Wells starting seven games and Trevino six.
That might have skewed slightly more toward Wells had the Marlins not just started three straight left-handers against the Yankees (which also led to Jon Berti getting three starts over Oswaldo Cabrera at third base).
Aaron Boone has said that his daily catching decision would be matchup-based and that he did not want to glue certain starters to one catcher or the other.
That said, Wells has caught all three of Carlos Rodon’s starts and both of Luis Gil’s while Trevino has caught each of Nestor Cortes’ three starts.
Neither catcher has yet to provide much offense in the small sample size, though Wells put together tough at-bats in the season-opening series against the Astros and his underlying metrics are better than his actual numbers.
The left-handed hitter has an expected batting average of .284 (compared to a real average of .130), per Baseball Savant, thanks in part to a 15.8 percent barrel rate.
Trevino, meanwhile, was hitting just 1-for-18 (.056) with an expected batting average of .110.
How’s that trade working out?
The Yankees and Guardians made a small trade the day after Christmas, with right-hander Cody Morris coming to New York and outfielder Estevan Florial going to Cleveland. Only Florial is expected to be at Progressive Field when the series opens on Saturday, with Morris having been optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre — though that roster flexibility was a key part of the trade for the Yankees as the 26-year-old Florial was out of minor league options.
Through the Guardians’ first 12 games, Florial had appeared in six — three starts at DH, one in center field and two pinch-hit appearances. He was batting 2-for-14 with a .536 OPS and seven strikeouts, the same kind of swing and miss issues that held him back from being a bigger factor with the Yankees.
Morris, meanwhile, is off to a solid start at SWB in a swingman role. In three appearances (including one two-inning start) Morris has thrown 7 ¹/₃ scoreless innings, allowing three hits and five walks while striking out nine. If he can improve his command, he figures to help the Yankees bullpen at some point this season.
Prospect check-in
Speaking of Yankees minor leaguers, here are two off to hot starts:
— Caleb Durbin opened some eyes organizationally this spring in big league camp before being optioned to Triple-A, where he has continued to hit.
The 24-year-old utilityman, who has started at second base, third base, shortstop, left field and center field, was batting .385 with a 1.160 OPS, 11 walks and three strikeouts while going a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen bases through 11 games.
The 5-foot-6 Durbin, known as a gamer, was acquired from the Braves (along with reliever Indigo Diaz) in December of 2022 for reliever Lucas Luetge.
The right-handed-hitting Durbin is not yet on the Yankees’ 40-man roster but could find his way there before long if he keeps this up.
— The Yankees have felt good about their catching depth recently, with four backstops currently on the 40-man roster.
Agustin Ramirez’s start to the season may only reinforce that notion.
At Double-A Somerset, Ramirez had crushed four home runs through his first five games entering Friday.
The 22-year-old catcher, added to the 40-man roster in November to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, got his first taste of big league camp this spring.
