Yankees' Sneaky Signing During Trade Deadline Chaos Helps With Depth

As we get closer to the MLB trade deadline on Monday evening, New York Yankees fans are waiting to see if general manager Brian Cashman will make a move to address the catcher position, which has been a clear weak link this season.

The Yankees have been linked to multiple catchers, Ryan Jeffers, Adley Rutschman, Hunter Goodman, and Tyler Stephenson. But it remains to be seen if they can get either guy, as several teams are also looking for help ahead of the deadline.

That said, New York bolstered its organizational depth earlier this week by bringing in a veteran backstop. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reported on Tuesday that the Yankees signed 34-year-old Christian Bethancourt to a minor-league pact and sent him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

As one can imagine, this move did not excite fans, as they’re waiting for Goodman, Jeffers, or someone else to land in the Bronx.

Luckily, for Yankees fans, it’s highly unlikely that Bethancourt will be playing at Yankee Stadium this season. The only way that happens is if there is an injury. Nonetheless, Cashman still needs to come away with an upgrade and not be content with the Austin Wells and Ali Sánchez duo.

Yankees bringing in Christian Bethancourt shouldn’t derail trade deadline plans

This season, the right-handed Bethancourt has been playing at Triple-A Iowa (Chicago Cubs’ affiliate). The veteran slugger is crushing International League pitching, slashing .262/.309/.466 with 11 home runs and 38 RBI.

Bethancourt was signed to a minor league pact by the Cubs this past offseason after spending the 2025 season at Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs ultimately cut ties two weeks ago, releasing the veteran, who played 24 big-league games in the Windy City.

Overall, Bethancourt has played 427 games over eight years at the big-league level, hitting .229 with an OPS of .621. The veteran will help with the pitchers and depth in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, along with J.C. Escarra. But that won’t help the Yankees at the major league level.

With the trade deadline being only four days away, Cashman has to come away with a catcher; it doesn’t have to be Jeffers or Goodman. It can be Liam Hicks or Ivan Herrera, who would give the Yankees some pop from the left and right sides.

We’ve already seen one catcher traded on Wednesday night, as the Los Angeles Angels sent Logan O’Hoppe and reliever Chase Silseth to the Texas Rangers for a prospect. O’Hoppe isn’t on the same level as the catchers we mentioned, but it shows that the catcher market will be active between now and Monday evening.

If we get to Monday at 6 p.m. ET, and the Yankees' only addition at catcher at the deadline is a 34-year-old Bethancourt, fans will not be happy. But given that this team is in the thick of the AL East, we shouldn’t expect Cashman to sit on his hands.

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