New York Yankees Acquire Erik Kratz From Cleveland Indians
The New York Yankees have announced that they have acquired veteran catcher Erik Kratz from the Cleveland Indians.
With suspensions looming for both Gary Sanchez and Austin Romine, the New York Yankees announced on Thursday that they have added some catching depth in the form of 37-year-old catcher Erik Kratz. He has been acquired from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for cash considerations.
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Kratz has spent seven seasons in the Majors including stints with the Pittsburgh Pirates (2010, ’16) Philadelphia Phillies (2011-13, ’15), Toronto Blue Jays (2014), Kansas City Royals (2014) and Houston Astros (2016). His last major league came on July 17, 2016, with the Pirates. In 33 games last season in the big leagues, he slashed .094/.105/.153.
Although he won’t be up with the Yankees for long, a glimmer of hope that Kratz won’t struggle immensely is his production with Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate, the Columbus Clippers.
In 86 games, Kratz slashed .270/.359/.472 with 13 home runs and an OPS of .831. Although those numbers will presumably not transfer to a surplus of success with the Yankees, one can expect the veteran backstop, who’s an ideal third catcher in any organization, to simply hold down the fort as Sanchez and Romine serve their suspensions.
[sc name=”Yankees Link Next” link=”https://elitesportsny.com/2017/08/31/greg-bird-new-york-yankees-savior/” text=”Greg Bird Is Here To Be The New York Yankees’ Savior, Again” ]The @Yankees have acquired minor league C Erik Kratz from the Cleveland @Indians in exchange for cash considerations.
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) August 31, 2017
Christian Kouroupakis covers the New York Yankees and is the Editorial Director for ESNY. Interact with him and view his daily work by “liking” his facebook page and follow him on Twitter. All statistics are courtesy of Baseball Reference.com unless otherwise noted. Don’t hesitate to shoot him an email with any questions, criticisms, or concerns.
