PETERSBURG, Fla. — Ben Rotvedt saw the writing on the wall near the end of spring training: His time with the Yankees was almost up.
As long as Jose Trevino and Austin Wells are healthy, they will be the catchers the Yankees bring north, and with Rohltvedt being out of minor league options, he was expected to be moved. .
But Roortvedt saw a new opportunity and, at least in the early stages, took it.
Roltvedt got off to a strong start after being traded to the Rays on Opening Day as part of the three-way deal that acquired John Barty from the Yankees.
He served as a pinch hitter against the Yankees on Saturday in a 7-2 win with two walks, but now plays in 27 games as a catcher and has a batting average of .333 and an OPS of .828.
“I think there are a lot of factors,” said Rohrtvedt, who caught up with many of his former teammates on Friday. “I went through the struggles that I have, learned about myself as a player, made mistakes, learned what kind of player I want to be, what kind of player I think I can be, and just show up and try to do the same thing. I think I’m just trying to be a player’ every day instead of chasing results. He’s really trying to show up and contribute to the team. ”
Rotvedt’s biggest impact as a Yankee was catching Gerrit Cole en route to the AL Cy Young Award last season when Jose Trevino was injured.
More than that, Rohrtvedt struggled to carve out a role for himself due to injuries and subsequently was unable to bat when healthy.
“It was tough for us to lose him, and we didn’t necessarily want to lose him to the Rays,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He can really catch and throw. He’s physically gifted there, the receiving part, he obviously has a great arm. I thought he did a pretty good job hitting as well.
“I’m excited that at least he’s getting a real chance and that he’s mostly healthy. He struggled a little bit when he was in Minnesota, but the first few minutes he spent with us. Even in 2017, he was pretty beat up on a lot of things. But he’s got talent.”
DJ LeMahieu (non-displaced foot fracture) pitched for the first time on Saturday since his rehabilitation assignment was just one inning on April 23rd.
The veteran infielder was at bat with right-hander JT Brubaker, who is rehabbing at the Yankees’ player development facility in Tampa, and “had a good day,” Boone said.
“I didn’t see him hit, but I heard he did well,” Boone said.
The plan is for LeMahieu to take batting practice again in Tampa on Tuesday and then be ready to try his hand at rehab duty again.
Tommy Kahnley (shoulder) made his second rehab appearance with Single-A Tampa on Saturday, pitching a scoreless inning with one strikeout on 15 pitches.
Boone said he then threw 10 more pitches in the bullpen, adding, “It went well.”
If Kahnle bounces back as expected, their next game will be Tuesday against Double-A Somerset.
He is expected to play at least three games with Somerset before being ready to join the Yankees.
Saturday marked the second time this season that Gleyber Torres, who has been struggling with health, was removed from the Yankees’ lineup.
Berti started at third base for the second consecutive year, replacing Oswaldo Cabrera at second base.
Coach Boone said he would have Torres back in the lineup Sunday.
