Yankees Set to Acquire New Third Baseman For Opening Day

The New York Yankees have reportedly moves to get a veteran utility player via trade with the chance he could start on Opening Day.

The New York Yankees have reportedly made a three-team deal in order to acquire Miami Marlins third baseman Jon Berti, per MLB.com and other outlets.  

The deal also includes prospects from both the Yankees and Tampa Bay which will go to the Marlins. Miami will bet Yankees catcher Ben Rortvedt. The deal is not official yet as Berti must pass a physical.

Per the New York Post, Berti was the Yankees’ first choice to acquire after an injury to Oswald Peraza in spring training.

Berti has been in Miami nearly his entire six-year Major League career and has been primarily a utility player for the Marlins, as he’s played second base, shortstop, third base and all three outfield positions.

Berti has 149 career games at third base, his most at any position.

He experienced the best season of his career in 2023, as he slashed .294/.344/.405/.748 with seven home runs and 33 RBI in a career-high 133 games. He also offers the Yankees speed on the basepaths. While he stole just 16 bases last year, he stole an MLB-high 41 in 2022.

He helped the Marlins make the Wild Card playoffs last year, where they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in two games.

With four years of service time, Berti remains under team control in 2025 before becoming a free agent.

The Toronto Blue Jays selected Berti in the 18th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. The Blue Jays traded him to Cleveland in 2018 for cash, and then re-acquired him two months later. He was promoted to the Majors in September of 2018 by Toronto. After that season he became a free agent and signed a minor-league deal with the Marlins.