Yankees' Catching Coordinator Explains What Makes Ben Rortvedt So 'Dynamic' Behind Plate
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TAMPA — Reunited and it feels so good.
When the Yankees pulled the trigger on their five-player swap with the Minnesota Twins last weekend, they weren't just upgrading the left side of their infield. New York also acquired catcher Ben Rortvedt, a 24-year-old backstop that has a history with the Yankees' catching coordinator, Tanner Swanson.
"We spent a lot of time together with him being a prospect in Minnesota and me being a coordinator," Swanson told Inside The Pinstripes in the clubhouse at George M. Steinbrenner Field this week. "Low-A, High-A, Double-A. He's always been a really dynamic defender in terms of his ability to move."
That's the scouting report, in a nutshell, on Rortvedt. There's room to grow at the plate—the backstop hit .169 during his 39-game stint in the big leagues last year—but behind it, he's proficient.
Take last year for example.
Over 256 innings at catcher, Rortvedt produced 5 Defensive Runs Saved. He was tied for 24th among catchers with 750-plus pitches called in Statcast's Catcher Framing Runs.
To put that into perspective, former Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez—who went to the Twins in last week's deal—posted a -10 DRS in 2021 over 879.1 innings and was ranked 63rd (out of 67 catchers) in Statcast's framing metric.
Kyle Higashioka, who projects to start behind the plate for New York this season, finished last season with 5 DRS (519.1 innings) and 3 Catcher Framing Runs.
Swanson explained that Rortvedt's athleticism and flexibility behind the plate allow him to move into productive positions lower to the ground, setups behind the dish that are more conducive to stealing strikes.
In fact, as Swanson began implementing the one knee down stance—something Sánchez famously adopted upon Swanson's arrival to New York in 2020—Rortvedt was one of the first catchers to put that new position into practice.
"There's already a narrative about the strength. He's got a unique physical skill set in terms of being really strong but really mobile," Swanson explained. "So he can get in a lot of different positions, he can perform and execute all of the skills in terms of receive, block, throw from a variety of different setup types. So he was honestly kind of one of the early guinea pigs I guess you'd say in terms of some of these new alternative setups that are not that new anymore, right?"
That experiment has been successful thus far. Rortvedt credited Swanson for "flipping the script" when it comes to his defensive skills as he rose through Minnesota's farm system, inching closer to his eventual MLB debut.
"I was very focused defensively on blocking, throwing, but changed my intent to receiving and I really made a bunch of strides there, working into new positions," Rortvedt said on his first day at Yankees camp. "He really helped me out in those compartments. And then honestly, with some of the setups, it helps my throwing as well."
Asked if he's comfortable with a tandem of Higashioka and Rortvedt at catcher heading into the 2022 season, Swanson said he believes the addition of Rortvedt gives New York a "really good duo."
"I think from a defensive standpoint, we're in a really strong place," he said. "How that shakes out in terms of the time share or innings, I think that stuff all kind of plays itself out throughout the course of the year. But I think we feel good about both guys."
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