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Jorge CastilloChristmas 26, 2025, 10:58 pm et
- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
The New York Yankees acquired utility man Amed Rosario from the Washington Nationals in exchange for two minor leaguers, it was announced Saturday night, giving the club a versatile right-handed hitter it had coveted before Thursday’s trade deadline.
A former top prospect with the New York MetsRosario is batting .270 with five home runs and a .736 OPS this season. But he’s hitting .299 with an .816 OPS against left-handed pitchers this season and the Yankees are expected to use him primarily against lefties.
Defensively, he gives manager Aaron Boone a multipurpose player. Rosario has started 20 games at third base and 13 at second base this season and has also made starts at each outfield position and at shortstop during his nine-year career.
The move comes a day after the Yankees completed a trade with the Colorado Rockies for veteran third baseman Ryan McMahon. Unlike McMahon, who is under contract for the next two seasons for $32 million, Rosario will become a free agent after this season. The Yankees will pay Rosario the balance of the one-year, $2 million deal he signed with Washington in January.
“When I heard where I was going, I kind of didn’t believe it,” Rosario said in Minnesota after the Nationals’ game vs. the Twins on Saturday. “I mean, at some point I kind of knew I was going to get traded, but I didn’t know it was going to be today.”
The Yankees nearly signed Rosario before last season, but he chose to sign a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Tampa Bay Rays instead. He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in late July and finished the season with the Cincinnati Reds after being claimed off waivers.
“He’s actually been a guy who we’ve tried to kind of get the last couple of years to varying degrees,” Boone said. “Provides some defensive versatility, speed and really gets lefties, so I think it kind of makes our bench and the balance of our roster a little more workable.”
This is the third straight year Rosario has been moved close to the trade deadline. The Yankees will be his sixth team since the end of the 2023 season.
“I feel great, because whenever teams are in playoff contention they always acquire me towards the end,” Rosario said. “I just feel really good about that.”
Rosario cost the Yankees right-hander Clayton Beetera 26-year-old right-hander in Triple-A who has made five major league relief appearances, and Browm Martinez, an 18-year-old outfielder in the Dominican Summer League.
The Yankees acquired Beeter, a second-round pick in 2020, from the Dodgers for Joey Gallo in 2022. He made his major league debut last season and gave up six runs in 3⅔ innings across two relief appearances this season.
Martinez is batting .404 with a 1.139 OPS in 18 games this season, his second in the Dominican Summer League. He signed with the Yankees for $130,000 last year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.