Indians trade Erik Kratz to Yankees

The Indians and Yankees swung a small trade Thursday afternoon, with Cleveland sending catcher Erik Kratz to New York for cash considerations.

Kratz has spent the entire season at Triple-A, so he’ll have to be added to the 40-man roster at some point today. Players must be added to an organization before midnight ET tonight to be playoff-eligible.

New York is facing a need behind the plate due to the impending suspensions of Gary Sanchez (four games) and Austin Romine (two games), so Kratz will provide a veteran presence in the absence of those two and likely see some other playing time in September. Sanchez and Romine are the only two catchers on the club’s 40-man roster at the moment.

Kratz, 37, has hit .270/.359/.472 with 13 home runs with Triple-A Columbus this year and owns a lifetime .200/.248/.362 line in parts of seven major-league seasons with Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Toronto, Kansas City and Houston.