The Yankees, who were deep in catching, cleared that jam by sending Carlos Narvaez to the Red Sox in exchange for righty Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz and international bonus pool space for this year (and not for 2025, which would have helped in the club’s chase for Roki Sasaki).
Rodriguez-Cruz, 21, reached High-A last season and posted a combined 2.91 ERA in 89 ²/₃ innings in which he struck out 102 batters.
Rodriguez-Cruz becomes the Yankees’ 12th-ranked prospect, according to MLB.com.
“After working at 91-95 mph with his fastball a year ago, Rodriguez-Cruz operated at 94-96 mph and topped out at 98 this April while featuring some armside run and carry on his heater,” MLB.com wrote.
“His slider has gained some velocity as well, sitting in the upper 80s with good depth and becoming his best secondary pitch. He also employs an upper-70s curveball that he locates well and has developed an upper-80s splitter that he uses as a change of pace.”
Narvaez, who debuted last season, was buried beneath Austin Wells and Jose Trevino on the depth chart.
The Yankees also have catching prospects J.C. Escarra and Jesus Rodriguez on their 40-man roster.
“Our development system has produced a lot of catching,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said before the trade. “We’ve had a lot of people hit us on our catching.”
In what has become a rarity, the Yankees did not lose a prospect in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft.
In the minor league version, they lost lefty Joel Valdez (to the Reds), lefty Oddanier Mosqueda (Cardinals), righty Blane Abeyta (Braves), outfielder Joel Mendez (Pirates) and righty Gabriel Barbosa (Phillies).
In the Triple-A version, the Yankees selected outfielder Luis Durango from the Guardians.
