Yankees' Jose Trevino has moved up; he's no longer Kyle Higashioka's backup
Yankees' Jose Trevino looks on after hitting a double against the Baltimore Orioles during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, April 16, 2022, in Baltimore. Credit: AP/Julio Cortez
Jose Trevino started for the second straight game behind the plate as the Yankees hosted Cleveland on Friday night.
Manager Aaron Boone said it’s fair to say Trevino no longer is Kyle Higashioka’s backup and has earned at least a share of the starting catcher job.
“I view it as kind of having a tandem right now,” Boone said.
Higashioka went into the season as the No. 1 catcher after hitting seven home runs in spring training in the wake of the Gary Sanchez trade.
But Higashioka — who Boone said is going to start on Saturday against rookie lefthander Kirk McCarty — went into Friday homerless and batting .097.
“Even though Higgy’s off to a slow start, I do feel like offensively he’s a real threat, especially against lefthanded pitching,” Boone said during an appearance on “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN New York 98.7-FM.
Trevino, whom the Yankees acquired from Texas on April 2, went into Friday with five hits in 12 at-bats (.417).
“He’s certainly earned it,” Boone said on “TMKS.” “There’s no question Jose has come in here and he’s played well in his starts, both behind the plate and giving us good at-bats. He’s been really impactful in our room as far as just getting entrenched in the culture and getting to know the pitchers and developing that rapport. I heard great things about him, but he’s been tremendous in every aspect for us. And yeah, he’s earned some more opportunities, too.”
Guardians arrive
Friday’s game was the Yankees’ first against the renamed Cleveland Guardians.
“I feel like I’ve been pretty good at saying, ‘The Guardians,’ ” said Boone, who played for Cleveland in 2005 and 2006. “I emphasize it. We did have someone in our coaches’ meeting earlier today open it up with ‘the [previous nickname].’ I’m getting there with it.”
Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.
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