Breaking: Yankees successfully Land a 31-year Old Infielder Worth $8.2 million

The New York Yankees announced Wednesday that they have acquired infielder Jon Berti from the Miami Marlins in a three-team trade that also involves the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays acquired catcher Ben Rortvedt from the Yankees, while the Marlins acquired minor league outfielder John Cruz from the Yankees and minor league outfielder Shane Sasaki from the Rays.

Berti, 34, hit .294 (114-for-388) with 53R, 16 doubles, 3 triples, 7HR, 33RBI, 29BB and 16SB in 133 games with Miami in 2023, setting career highs in batting average, hits, extra-base hits (26), home runs, RBI, multi-hit games (29) and games played. He appeared defensively at second base (15G/10GS), third base (41G/27GS), shortstop (64G/52GS), left field (18G/11GS) and right field (1G).

Over parts of six Major League seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays (2018) and Miami Marlins (2019-23), Berti has hit .258 (354-for-1,370) with 210R, 63 doubles, 9 triples, 23HR, 120RBI, 150BB and 92SB in 436 games. During the 2022 season, Berti led all Major Leaguers with 41 stolen bases. The right-handed batter has appeared defensively at second base (114G/85GS), third base (149G/119GS), shortstop (110G/86GS) and all three outfield positions (48G/33GS in LF, 37G/23GS in CF and 10G/7GS in RF) in his Major League career.

The Troy, Mich., native was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 18th round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of Bowling Green State University (Ohio). In 2018, he was acquired by Cleveland from Toronto on April 21 before being re-acquired by Toronto from Cleveland on June 7. On November 29, 2018, he signed with Miami as a minor league free agent.

Rortvedt, 26, batted .118 (8-for-68) with 6R, 1 double, 2HR, 4RBI and 11BB in 32 games with the Yankees in 2023. In 33 combined games with Single-A Tampa, Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season, he hit .291/.403/.513 (34-for-117) with 22R, 8 doubles, 6HR, 23RBI, 17BB and 2SB. Over parts of two Major League seasons with the Minnesota Twins (2021) and Yankees (2023), the left-handed hitting catcher has batted .146 (23-for-157) with 14R, 2 doubles, 5HR, 11RBI and 17BB in 71 career games. Rortvedt was acquired by the Yankees from the Minnesota Twins along with infielders Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa in exchange for catcher Gary Sánchez and infielder Gio Urshela on March 13, 2022. The Madison, Wis., native was originally drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the second round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft.

Cruz, 18, spent the entire 2023 season with the FCL Yankees, batting .294/.376/.531 (52-for-177) with 28R, 6 doubles, 3 triples, 10HR, 47RBI, 22BB and 9SB in 48 games. Over parts of two seasons in the Yankees organization (2022-23), the outfielder has hit .260 (90-for-346) with 66R, 14 doubles, 6 triples, 15HR, 71RBI, 70BB and 19SB in 102 minor league games. The Santiago de los Caballeros, D.R., native was originally signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on January 15, 2022.