Former Yankee Ben Rortvedt off to quick start for Rays

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Ben Rortvedt saw the writing on the wall toward the end of spring training that his time would soon be up with the Yankees.

As long as Jose Trevino and Austin Wells stayed healthy, they were going to be the catchers the Yankees brought north, and with Rortvedt out of minor league options, he expected to be moved.

But Rortvedt has taken his new opportunity and run with it, at least in the early going.

After being traded to the Rays as part of a three-way deal that landed the Yankees Jon Berti on the eve of Opening Day, Rortvedt has gotten off to a strong start.

Through Saturday’s 7-2 win over the Yankees, in which he drew a pair of walks as a pinch-hitter, he is now batting .333 with a .828 OPS in 27 games as part of a catching tandem.

“I think there’s a lot of components,” Rortvedt said after catching up with many of his former teammates on Friday. “I think it’s just me going through the struggles that I have, learning about myself as a player, failing, learning what player I want to be, what player I think I can be, and just trying to show up and be the same player every day, not chasing results. Really showing up and trying to contribute to the team.”