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.
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. The Bronx Bombers 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.”
Trevino has taken on more playing time of late, especially as he continues to perform well, but it’s still a relatively even split with Higashioka. On Saturday, Trevino made his 29th start of the year at catcher — the same number of games Higashioka has started. This month alone, Trevino has six starts to Higashioka’s four.
“He certainly has earned being in there,” manager Aaron Boone said. “But love what we have going on with both guys. Obviously want to get Higgy going a little bit at the plate, but Jose’s certainly earning more and more opportunities.”
After flashing his power in spring training, Higashioka has gotten off to a tough start at bat in the regular season. He was hitting .148 with an 18 OPS-plus through 34 games.
The 29-year-old Trevino, meanwhile, has become a more well-known name in The Bronx than when the Yankees first landed him.
“Trevino has been huge for us,” Severino said. “He’s been so solid all year. He’s kind of made for the big situations. … It was a great move for us.”