Jose

Trevino

Trevino also got a nice nod earlier in the day, as the Reds chose to put Tyler Stephenson at DH on the All-Star ballot and list Trevino as their catcher. Trevino, who was the Reds’ starter while Stephenson was hurt, is batting .294/.325/.487 in 127 plate appearances. That .812 OPS is 175 points better than his career mark of .637 entering the year.

Jose Trevino has been a nice surprise offensively so far, but he’ll take a backseat when Stephenson returns either this weekend or next week. The two will play together sometimes, as the Reds figure to occasionally use Stephenson as a DH.

A rare three-run game for Trevino. His only other two came in his breakthrough 2022 season with the Yankees, but even then, he scored only a total of 39 runs in115 games and 353 plate appearances. He’s opened this year 5-for-17 for a Reds team missing its starting catcher in Tyler Stephenson.

The two sides agreed to the deal on Thursday afternoon and it didn’t take them long to make it official. Trevino is expected to open the season as the Reds’ primary catcher with Tyler Stephenson (oblique) starting the season on the injured list.

Heyman says the deal will pay Trevino $15 million, and it includes a club option for a fourth season. The 32-year-old backstop was acquired from the Yankees this winter, and with Tyler Stephenson (oblique) opening the year on the injured list, it’ll be Trevino that handles the catching duties for the Reds to open 2025.

Trevino was hit by a foul tip in his thumb during Friday’s Cactus League game, but the good news is there appears to be no break or structural damage. The 32-year-old is expected to open the season as the starting catcher with Tyler Stephenson (oblique) opening the year on the 10-day injured list, but Trevino’s status for Opening Day is still a bit of a question mark.

Trevino was hit by a foul tip on the right thumb during Friday’s spring training game and the Reds don’t want to take any chances here, especially with starter Tyler Stephenson ticketed for the injured list with a low-grade oblique strain. There should be an update on his status at some point later this weekend.

An MRI taken Thursday confirmed the strain. The Reds may wait until closer to Opening Day to make the roster move, but Stephenson will miss at least the first week-plus of the regular season because of the strain. With the 28-year-old out of action, Jose Trevino will all but assuredly be the starting backstop to begin the campaign.

Stephenson first experienced pain in his lower back on Wednesday and was scratched from the lineup in that game. Reds manager Terry Francona said at the time that there was no need to push Stephenson, so the team may be simply looking to ensure their belief that nothing is wrong. If Stephenson were to miss time, the team would turn to Jose Trevino as their starting catcher to begin the season.

Given their limited resources, surrendering Fernando Cruz and paying more than $3 million to get Trevino from the Yankees as a backup to Tyler Stephenson seems rather wasteful by the Reds. While it could pay off if Stephenson gets hurt, there were better places to upgrade. Trevino, a free agent after the season, is one of the game’s best pitch framers, but he hit just .215/.288/.354 in 234 plate appearances for the Bombers last year.