Yankees Pitcher Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz Impressing After Trade From Rival Red Sox
The Yankees and Red Sox have been more active trade partners recently than what might be expected for two of the game’s most longstanding rivals. The sides have connected on deals in three of the last four seasons, including a major swap in 2023 that saw New York send three prospects to Boston in exchange for outfielder Alex Verdugo.
The most recent swap between the clubs came this past offseason, when the Yankees sent catcher Carlos Narvaez to Boston in exchange for righthander Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, who struck out 102 hitters in 89.2 innings between both Class-A levels in 2024.
Rodriguez-Cruz, whom Boston drafted in the fourth round in 2021 out of high school in Puerto Rico, carries a deep and varied pitch mix that stands in stark contrast to the repertoire he showed as an amateur.
“At midseason last year I started adding a sweeper,” Rodriguez-Cruz said after an impressive outing on the backfields against the Tigers. “And my goal for last year was to use the splitter more, because it had been giving me good results. Those are the two pitches I’m working on the most, and I think they’re trending in a good spot. If I continue to do it, the results are going to speak for themselves.”
With the continued development of the two newest pieces of his arsenal, Rodriguez-Cruz now works with a complement of five pitches: a four-seam fastball, gyro slider, sweeper, curveball and splitter. He’s also begun the process of incorporating a sinker into his mix.
All together, the righthander has weapons for hitters of both hands and ones he can use to attack both vertically and horizontally.
The complete mix also adds Rodriguez-Cruz to the growing list of pitchers who throw multiple slider variants. Though both pitches have similar movement patterns, the 21-year-old righty deploys each with different intent.
“They’re kind of similar,” he said. “They move kind of similar, but one has more sweep. The bigger one, it could tend to have more swings and misses. So that’s one we’re trying to work on and get more swings and misses on those pitches. And the gyro is a pitch I feel like I could control really well in any count.”
In high school, Rodriguez-Cruz threw three pitches: a four-seam fastball, curveball and changeup. The biggest difference between then and now is the move from a changeup to the splitter. The latter pitch is more comfortable in his hand and allows him to produce harder, more consistent action to drive whiffs.
Scouts who’ve seen Rodriguez-Cruz this spring have come away impressed with his combination of present stuff and remaining projection. If it all comes together, he might have a future as a No. 4 starter.
Between now and the time Rodriguez-Cruz reaches the big leagues, plenty of prospects in Yankees and Red Sox systems will be traded away as each club attempts to add another trophy to its case.
The significance of being moved from one rival to the other, however, is perfectly clear.
“For me, it’s an honor, just for the Yankees to bring me here with such a meaningful trade,” Rodriguez-Cruz said. “So I’m just excited for this opportunity and trying to make the most out of it.”
