Jose Trevino loved being a New York Yankee.

That should not be a prominent consideration in determining whether or not a player should be traded. It likely should not be a consideration at all. But, in evaluating the totality of a player’s — a person’s — time in pinstripes, it deserves explicit mention.

Jose Trevino loved being a New York Yankee because Jose Trevino’s father loved the New York Yankees. As a child, the younger Trevino would imitate game situations, and his father would always situate the action in an imaginary Yankee Stadium. Joe “Bugé” Trevino passed away during his son Jose’s junior year at Oral Roberts University.

On May 25, 2022, Trevino stepped to the plate in extra innings at Yankee Stadium on the night of his late father’s birthday. The light-hitting catcher, acquired two months prior to serve a supporting role in the Bronx, was in the process of establishing himself as slightly more essential than expected. On this particular night, with runners on first and second and one out in the 11th, Trevino had the opportunity to, if everything went exactly right, live out the moment he and his father had dreamed of. His bat, traditionally lacking heft, could be the differentiator if the universe decided to smile.

Trevino, powered by an omnipotent onlooker, lashed a line drive down the left field line. It was all for dad.

Yankees trade catcher Jose Trevino to Cincinnati Reds

Trevino rode that momentum from another plane to the All-Star Game that summer, but sometime shortly thereafter, his magic began to dissipate. In 2023, he was felled by a wrist injury, which led to surgical repair. In 2024, when he returned, his throwing strength was sapped, leaving the erstwhile leader embarrassed on Sunday Night Baseball at Fenway Park as Boston raced around the bases on his watch.

As his salary rose ($3 million, but still), conventional wisdom indicated the Yankees would likely upgrade the backup position this offseason. Just as we thought we had it all figured out, though, Carlos Narvaez, the defensive-minded backup in waiting, was flipped to Boston. Would the Yankees test their luck with Trevino? Did they have an even thriftier alternative in mind? Were the Red Sox offering a pitching prospect they simply couldn’t refuse?

In the end, the Yankees waited a week after the Winter Meetings for things to simmer down, then found their match; Trevino was flipped to the Reds late Wednesday night in exchange for reliever Fernando Cruz, in possession of potentially the game’s best splitter (tied with current Yankee Mark Leiter Jr., perhaps).

The Yankees will also receive catcher Alex Jackson, who more than likely will not replace Trevino, both on the field and off.

Trevino certainly earned more of the “Yankee Experence” than most childhood Yankee fans will ever attain. He played in the World Series with his beloved team. He walked off not once, not twice, but thrice as the ’22 Yankees raced out to the league’s best record. His downfall was swift, but his new home will embrace him just the same. Cincinnati is a wonderful baseball community. It’s not his Yankees, but it’s special nonetheless.

As for New York’s return? If the Yankees can harness Cruz, whose splitter induced an opponents’ batting average of .116 and a slugging percentage of .149 against it in 2024, they’ll have another controllable reliever for their backend mix. The only thing predictable about the Yankees’ bullpen-building strategy this offseason was that it was bound to be unpredictable. Cruz, controlled through 2028, makes all the sense in the world as an under-the-radar acquisition.

Trevino? He’ll always be a Yankee, regardless of his current uniform.