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Yankees reportedly trade veteran catcher to Pirates 2+ weeks after deadline
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- Yankees reportedly trade veteran catcher to Pirates 2+ weeks after deadline
Yankees reportedly trade veteran catcher to Pirates 2+ weeks after deadline originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The New York Yankees , two-plus weeks after the 2026 MLB trade deadline, have agreed to a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates .
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They previously traded Camilo Doval to Pittsburgh in an interesting deal ahead of the deadline, and now, afterwards, they've made another trade. But since it's involving minor league players, the deal can go through. So, what was the trade?
According to Francys Romero of beisbolfr.com , the Yankees have traded veteran catcher Christian Bethancourt to the Pirates in exchange for cash considerations.
Yankees to trade Christian Bethancourt to Pirates for cash considerations
"The New York Yankees have traded catcher Christian Bethancourt to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations," Romero reports.
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Bethancourt is a 34-year-old veteran catcher who's been around in Major League Baseball since the 2013 season, when he played in one game for the Atlanta Braves .
This season with the Yankees, he was down in Triple-A after being released by the Chicago Cubs in mid-July. He signed on July 28 and played in eight games at the Triple-A level for the Yankees.
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In those games, Bethancourt had a .333 batting average with a 1.115 OPS. He had a .775 OPS with the Cubs in 59 games, making for a 67-game, 230-at-bat sample size in Triple-A with an .811 OPS this season in the minors.
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The only issue is that his last big-league appearance was in 2024, and he had just a .608 OPS for the Cubs and Miami Marlins .
Bethancourt likely would not have factored much into the Yankees' plans this season, so receiving cash considerations isn't a bad thing.
This is an interesting roster move for the Yankees two-plus weeks after the trade deadline. But he clearly wasn't in the Yankees' MLB plans this season, so getting cash back for him in a trade with the Pirates, who desperately need more catching depth, is a good trade.
