Ben Rortvedt DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Ben Rortvedt (shoulder) returned to action on Saturday as a designated hitter. Rortvedt was dealing with a sore shoulder last week but was able to see time in a DH role. In this contest, Rortvedt went 0-for-2 with a strikeout. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status during camp as he may need additional time to be cleared to return as a defender. Currently, Rortvedt is expected to be Tampa Bay's No. 2 backstop behind Danny Jansen. Last season, Rortvedt appeared in 112 games for the Rays and posted a .228/.317/.303 slash line with 13 doubles and three home runs. He drew walks at a strong 10.4 percent rate but held a high 26.8 percent strikeout rate. If Rortvedt were to continue to be limited by this shoulder injury, Jansen could see an even larger share of the starts behind the plate at the start of the campaign.

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Ben Rortvedt (shoulder) is dealing with shoulder soreness and is expected to miss a few games. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status, but given that he is only viewed as day-to-day, suggests the injury is not serious. Rortvedt appeared in 112 games for the Tampa Bay Rays last season. Across this stint, Rortvedt held a .228/.317/.303 slash line with 13 doubles and three home runs. He swiped one bag and held a high 26.8 percent strikeout rate. However, he was graded as an excellent defender as he placed in the 75th percentile in blocks above average and the 83rd percentile in pop time. Fantasy managers should expect the 27-year-old to operate as the No. 2 option behind Danny Jansen during the season and carry little fantasy value.

The Tampa Bay Rays acquired catcher Ben Rortvedt from the New York Yankees on Wednesday in a three-team deal that also included the Miami Marlins, according to a source. The Marlins landed prospect Shane Sasaki from the Rays and prospect John Cruz from the Yankees. Rortvedt, 26, was out of minor-league options and wasn't going to make New York's Opening Day roster as a third catcher, so he now moves to Tampa, where he's expected to be the backup to starter Rene Pinto. He is more of a defense-first catcher and has hit just .146/.234/.255 with five home runs and 11 RBI in 71 major-league games in two seasons with the Yankees and Minnesota Twins. Rortvedt will be off the fantasy radar in two-catcher and AL-only leagues unless Pinto gets hurt and misses time.

New York Yankees catcher Ben Rortvedt, who worked almost exclusively as right-hander Gerrit Cole's personal catcher last year when he won the American League Cy Young, is likely to either be traded or outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start the year with Jose Trevino and Austin Wells expected to split the playing time behind the dish in 2024. Rortvedt is considered a better defender than Wells, but Wells is the superior hitter, which has given him the apparent leg up on the competition. Rortvedt is out of minor-league options. Even more telling has been the fact that Cole has been working with Wells, and not Rortvedt, in spring training. The 26-year-old Rortvedt hit just .118/.241/.221 with two home runs in 79 plate appearances for the Yankees in 2023.