The Cincinnati Reds today on X announced that they have claimed Ben Rortvedt, a catcher from the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was added to the 40 man roster, due to being claimed off waivers. He makes 38. This makes it interesting for the Reds…is this a fallback plan? Or do they think they can pass him back through and get him to AAA? Subscribe to our Newsletter by using the popup or the form below!
Ben Rortvedt Is Defense First
Much like the Reds current backstop, Ben Rortvedt is a defense-first catcher. He was a 2nd round pick by the Minnesota Twins, 56th overall pick at that in 2016. He was highly regarded and thought to be one of the best catchers in the draft. The history hasn’t really served well, however.
Ben has stuck around the big leagues primarily as a backup catcher, and one would assume with the Reds, he’ll serve as a depth piece. The Reds lost quite a bit of depth catchers to free agency this year that were in the minors. Eric Yang is one of them.
Could This Be a Safety Blanket To Trade Tyler?
The Reds are going to have to be ‘creative’ this year in the words of Nick Krall – could that mean that they’ll be trading away some of their arbitration players like Tyler Stephenson? I think that’s definitely a possibility and adding a catcher like Rortvedt could signal this being a real scenario. No, he isn’t Tyler Stephenson good, but if they free up salary, they could land a bigger bat. That’s the goal.
