Yankees Catcher Ben Rortvedt Injures Finger
Another Yankees catcher is hurting.
Manager Aaron Boone said Monday that Ben Rortvedt is dealing with a finger injury, according to The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty. The backstop is entering his second season in the Yankees organization after he, Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa joined the team in the trade that sent Gio Urshela and Gary Sánchez to the Twins.
Rortvedt has yet to make his Yankees debut, as injuries hindered his 2022 campaign. The 25-year-old already had an oblique injury when New York acquired him last spring, and he also underwent left knee surgery for a meniscus clean-up in May.
Rortvedt, who appeared in 39 games for the Twins in 2021, spent his entire 2022 season in the minors and mostly played at Triple-A. He slashed .221/.307/.396 with six home runs and 20 RBI over 42 games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
To make up for lost time, Rortvedt also played in the Dominican Winter League during the offseason, but he hit just .114 over 12 games.
The Yankees didn’t bring Rortvedt in for his bat, though. He’s considered a strong defender, giving the club another glove-first catcher behind big leaguers Jose Trevino and Kyle Higashioka.
Rortvedt became the second Yankees receiver to suffer an injury this spring. Austin Wells is dealing with bruised ribs and has been shut down from baseball activities. Boone said that the 2020 first-round pick would be reevaluated after a few days on Friday.
Wells is the Yankees’ fourth-best prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. The 23-year-old is in his first big league camp.
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