Rortvedt is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.
Rortvedt will be on the bench for the fourth game in a row and is unlikely to be anything more than the Yankees' No. 3 catcher over the final month of the season after New York called up prospect Austin Wells from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday. Wells will make his third straight start Sunday and is expected to get a long look as the team's top backstop down the stretch. Since receiving a call-up of his own from Triple-A on July 21, Rortvedt has slashed an abysmal .087/.192/.217 over 22 games.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Sitting again Monday
Rotowire
Rortvedt is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Tigers.
Rortvedt will take a seat for the second straight day while the Yankees reward Kyle Higashioka with another turn behind the dish after he slugged a home run in Sunday's 7-4 loss to the Rays. Expect the Yankees to deploy Rortvedt and Higashioka in a roughly even timeshare as the season winds down.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Gets Sunday off
Rotowire
Rortvedt is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays.
Rortvedt will get a maintenance day after catching in the first two games of the series while going 0-for-5 with a walk against three strikeouts. Kyle Higashioka will step in behind the dish for the series finale.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: On bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Rortvedt is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Nationals.
Kyle Higashioka will start behind the plate and bat eighth versus the Nationals and left-hander MacKenzie Gore. Rortvedt has been drawing the majority of the playing time at catcher in recent weeks, but he carries a weak .136/.255/.295 overall slash line for the year.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Homers Tuesday
Rotowire
Rortvedt went 2-for-2 with a solo home run in Tuesday's loss against the Nationals.
Rortvedt was responsible for the Yankees' lone run in the 2-1 loss with a solo homer off Josiah Gray in the third inning, his second long ball of the season. The 25-year-old Rortvedt has seen the majority of the playing time behind the plate in New York recently, despite going just 1-for-22 in 11 contests prior to Tuesday's matchup. Overall, he's slashing just .136/.255/.295 with four runs scored and three RBI across 51 plate appearances this season.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Heads to bench Sunday
Rotowire
Rortvedt is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox.
Rortvedt will take a seat for the series finale after starting in three of the past four games behind the dish. The 25-year-old might have the edge on playing time over Kyle Higashioka behind the plate at the moment, but any advantage Rortvedt might have is likely thin. Rortvedt is batting .059 in 15 games since being recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on July 21.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Gets fourth start in six games
Rotowire
Rortvedt will start at catcher and bat ninth in Monday's game against the White Sox.
Rortvedt is behind the plate for the fourth time in six games and may have inched ahead of Kyle Higashioka on the depth chart at catcher. Since getting called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on July 21, Rortvedt has drawn walks at a 15 percent clip, but he's managed just one hit in 17 at-bats.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Yankees optioned Rortvedt to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, Randy Miller of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.
Rortvedt is booted from the active roster to make room for Jose Trevino with Trevino coming off the 10-day injured list. In five games with the Yankees, Rortvedt went 2-for-7 while scoring a pair of runs. He'll head to Triple-A to provide emergency depth for the Yankees.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Set for debut with Yankees
Rotowire
Rortvedt is starting at catcher and batting ninth Saturday versus the Reds.
Rortvedt will make his debut with the Yankees after he was acquired via trade from the Twins in March of 2022. The 25-year-old has had a strong season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, batting .324 with three homers, 10 RBI and four runs scored over 37 at-bats in 10 games. With Jose Trevino (hamstring) on the 10-day injured list, Rortvedt will split time behind the plate with Kyle Higashioka.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Activated and optioned
Rotowire
Rortvedt (shoulder) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday.
Rortvedt was placed on the 10-day injured list in late March after he underwent left shoulder surgery in February, and he has been working his way back since. The catcher has yet to appear in a game for the Yankees after being acquired via trade from Minnesota in March of 2022. The 25-year-old will stick with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he went 3-for-17 with a double, an RBI and a run scored over five rehab contests.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Placed on 10-day IL
Rotowire
The Yankees placed Rortvedt (shoulder) on the 10-day injured list Thursday.
Rortvedt required surgery for a left shoulder aneurysm back in February and is still getting back up to speed. He'll probably head to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre once he's activated from the IL.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Resumes running
Rotowire
Rortvedt (shoulder) began running last week, but he's not close to being able to swing a bat, Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media reports.
Rortvedt underwent surgery on his left shoulder in late February. He was expected to be held out of baseball activities for at least a month, and he'll presumably need considerable time to ramp up once he's able to start swinging again. Rortvedt isn't expected to return to game action until at least May.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Gets surgery Wednesday
Rotowire
Rortvedt (finger) underwent surgery Wednesday to address an aneurysm near his left shoulder and isn't expected to resume baseball activities for at least one month, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
According to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, the procedure addressed a circulation issue in his shoulder, which had been affecting his finger. Given that he won't be cleared in time to play in Grapefruit League games, Rortvedt appears likely to open the 2023 season on the injured list. The 25-year-old looked like a candidate to open the previous season as the Yankees' No. 1 catcher, but after suffering an oblique injury last spring and then undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in May, he didn't debut for the big club in 2022.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Held out again Tuesday
Rotowire
Rortvedt (finger) was unable to return to workouts as hoped Tuesday, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.
The 25-year-old is still having his finger injury evaluated by a specialist and the Yankees hope to have more clarification Wednesday. Rortvedt -- who missed much of 2022 with a knee injury -- is competing this spring to be the backup behind Jose Trevino.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Managing finger issue
Rotowire
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday that Rortvedt is tending to a finger injury, but the catcher is expected to return to camp Tuesday, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.
Boone didn't elaborate on the extent of Rortvedt's finger injury, though it's believed to be only a minor concern. The injury may nonetheless keep Rortvedt from being ready to go when the Yankees open their Grapefruit League schedule Saturday versus the Phillies. Rortvedt looks like he'll get the chance to compete for the No. 2 catcher role in spring training, but Kyle Higashioka presumably has the inside track on the gig after handling those duties for much of the 2022 season.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Called up Friday
Rotowire
Rortvedt was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday.
Rortvedt has yet to appear in the big leagues this year and has hit .215 with four home runs, 17 RBI and 16 runs over 30 games at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He should provide depth behind the dish while Jose Trevino is on the paternity list.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Rehab shifted to Triple-A
Rotowire
Rortvedt (knee) had his rehab assignment transferred to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday.
Rortvedt has been out since May 8 after suffering a left knee injury while rehabbing and has yet to make his season debut for the Yankees following the team acquiring him from the Twins via trade in March. He appears to be nearing a return though, joining Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after he went 1-for-12 with three runs and three walks over four contests with High-A Hudson Valley.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Hitless in rehab appearance
Rotowire
Rortvedt (knee) went 0-for-2 with a walk in a rehab appearance with High-A Hudson Valley on Tuesday.
This was technically Rortvedt's third rehab game this season, but it was his first since he picked up a knee injury May 8. The backstop underwent arthroscopic surgery for that issue, which came on the heels of an oblique strain that caused him to miss all of spring training and the first month of the regular season. Rortvedt could work his way up to the majors at some point if he performs well while rehabbing, but he'll likely need an extended minor-league assignment considering the amount of time he has missed.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Nearing game action
Rotowire
Rortvedt (knee) took live batting practice Saturday and has been increasing his running, Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media reports. "I would say he's probably getting close to being ready for some game action," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday.
Rortvedt hasn't yet played this season after the Yankees acquired him in a trade with Minnesota in mid-March. The backstop was dealing with an oblique issue at the time of the deal, and he later picked up a knee injury that required surgery while rehabbing in May. Rortvedt was expected to compete for the primary catcher job when he was first dealt to New York, but Jose Trevino has hit well enough (.743 OPS) that such an opportunity may have passed, at least for this season.
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Yankees' Ben Rortvedt: Sheds crutches
Rotowire
Rortvedt (knee) was walking normally without crutches Friday, Randy Miller of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.
Rortvedt underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee May 18, and it was encouraging to see him regain his mobility less than two weeks after the procedure. The catcher is hopeful that he'll be able to return to game action in 4-to-6 weeks, which puts him in line with his initial recovery timetable of mid-to-late July.
