Trevino making a name for himself
When the Yankees traded for catcher Jose Trevino on the last weekend of spring training, new teammate Luis Severino thought they had acquired Athletics reliever Lou Trivino.
Those who had played with Trevino before, though, had a better idea of what was to come and the potential steal the Yankees were getting.
“Once we got him, I knew he was going to thrive here because he’s that type of player,” said shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who was teammates with Trevino on the Rangers. “He’s built for the big stage. He’s a grinder. He’s a guy that whenever the lights shine brighter, that’s when he shows up. In Texas, it was tough sometimes, the situation he was in. It’s awesome that he’s in the situation he’s in now on the best team in baseball.”
Trevino delivered his latest clutch moment in pinstripes on Friday night against the Cubs. He pinch-hit for fellow backstop Kyle Higashioka with two outs in the 13th inning and came through with an RBI single for a 2-1 win — his second walk-off hit of the season.
A day later, Trevino hit one of six solo homers in the Yankees’ 8-0 rout of the Cubs on Saturday.
Known more for his defense behind the plate and his work with his pitching staff — both of which have come as advertised — Trevino has also provided a surprising boost on offense. Entering Saturday, he was batting .290 with a 131 OPS-plus (100 is average), both well above his career averages, through 38 games.
“It’s just a collective unit, a group of guys that are trying to do their job the best they can and do nothing more than what they’re supposed to do,” Trevino said. “Every guy is handling it the way they’re supposed to and every individual is coming out prepared and ready to play.”
When the Yankees acquired Trevino — for reliever Albert Abreu, whom the Rangers have since designated for assignment, and minor league pitcher Robert Ahlstrom — they did so for his strong catching skills. They envisioned a strong defensive tandem with Trevino and Higashioka, and figured whatever they got on offense would be a bonus because of the strength of the rest of their lineup.
“I feel like offensively — he doesn’t need to worry about offense. I think that’s why he’s thriving,” Kiner-Falefa said. “In Texas, for me and him both, they wanted more out of us offensively. Just knowing that in the back of your head, sometimes you try too hard. … It says a lot about who he is and the kind of player he is. He’s taking all of his effort on defense and he’s thriving on offense as well, which is what we needed as a team.”