The Yankees trade Jose Trevino to the Reds for Fernando Cruz and Alex Jackson

With a surprise trade late Friday, the Yankees added a bona fide strikeout artist to a bullpen that looks strong, lost a season as an elite pitch framer and trimmed the payroll a bit.

Jose Trevino, an All-Star in 2022 and one of the game’s best at making balls look like strikes, was sent to the Reds for high-octane right guard Fernando Cruz and catcher Alex Jackson.

Trevino arrived from the Rangers at the end of spring training in ’22 and broke out, but was injured for much of 2023 and lost his starting job in 2024 when Austin Wells emerged as the Yankees’ future catching position.

Trevino was owed about $3.5 million in arbitration for 2025, which will be his walk year, and the Yankees can do cheaper with a backup and redirect the money elsewhere.

Jackson, a 28-year-old journeyman whom the Reds signed to a minor league contract, is highly regarded defensively but has never scored in five major league seasons.

Cruz is the more significant part of the trade.

The Yankees’ bullpen often struggled to pile up strikeouts last season, and Cruz has no problems missing bats.

Cruz relied heavily on his splitter, posting 109 strikeouts in 66²/₃ innings last season – 14.72 per nine innings, which was the highest rate in the majors among pitchers who threw 50 innings.

He also walked 35 and posted a 4.86 ERA, making him another project for pitching coach Matt Blake.

Cruz, a three-year major league player, is 34 years old but hasn’t even reached arbitration yet.

He is eligible to be optioned to the minor leagues for several years, and the Yankees have four years of contract control.

With this trade, the Yankees traded for a higher cap hit but gave up a high-floor player in Trevino.

Pitchers like to throw to Trevino, who excels at framing and blocking potentially wild pitches but has a throwing arm that was often exposed last season.

At the helm, Trevino had not yet reached the highs of his first half of ’22, posting a combined OPS of .611 in ’23 and ’24.

Jackson will be the most likely replacement for Wells, but the Yankees have two prospects on the 40-man roster (JC Escarra and Jesus Rodriguez) who could become options.

The Yankees’ bullpen finally solidified last season, but it took several months to find a combination that worked, and the lack of strikeouts was often highlighted.

This offseason, the Yankees signed electric closer Devin Williams, re-signed electric-when-healthy Jonathan Loáisiga and now have arguably the best relief arm in missing at-bats in baseball.

Considering the holdovers include Luke Weaver, Ian Hamilton, Mark Leiter Jr. and Jake Cousins, the club’s bullpen may be looking dominant.