Fernando Cruz came to the Yankees in an offseason swap with the Cincinnati Reds, but to the Puerto Rico native, that’s not remotely the biggest trade that he has been a part of. A man of deep faith, blessed with a nearly unhittable split-finger fastball and a remarkable work ethic, Cruz is certain that his mother -- who passed away in 2021, a year before he debuted in the majors at 32 years old -- made a deal with God, trading her own life to ensure the success of her children. It’s a heavy topic, but Cruz was happy to share his story of perseverance and redemption with Meredith Marakovits on a recent episode of the New York Yankees Official Podcast.
In his first few months as a Yankee, Cruz has thrived in high-leverage spots out of manager Aaron Boone’s bullpen. A late bloomer, Cruz -- who was drafted as an infielder, then played catcher before finally emerging as a lights-out reliever -- has been making hitters look foolish, his splitter darting out of the strike zone and inducing comically awkward swings. Big league success would be a dream for any pitcher, but for Cruz, who grew up absolutely obsessed with the Yankees, it is just more proof that someone is watching over him.
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Yankees Magazine: What was your initial reaction when you found out you were going to be a New York Yankee?
Fernando Cruz: Oh my god, I was coming to my dream team. Since I was young, growing up, I was a Yankees fan. And it just shocked me; it took me a good 10 minutes to realize that I was coming to New York to live my dream.
YM: How did you become a Yankees fan?
FC: Puerto Rico, I think we are a Yankees nation. Growing up, everybody was a Yankees fan. I think the only channel my dad would put on when I was a little kid was the YES Network. And I just fell in love with the tradition, the pinstripes, the “See ya!” from Michael Kay. I grew up loving the Yankees and the tradition. The big city, the big market -- I just fell in love with it, and it was my dream.
YM: Your journey is incredibly interesting because you were drafted by the Royals in 2007 as a position player. I imagine you thought you were going to the big leagues as a position player. Take us through that!
FC: It was a long journey and an amazing process for me. The one thing that helped me accomplish the next steps was my physical preparation. I give a lot of credit to the way I wake up every day: try to be stronger, try to be better, try to move well enough to make every transition.
In 2007, I got drafted as a shortstop. Two weeks later, I was moving to third base because there was another big prospect at shortstop. Adapting to that new position took me a bit of time. But the physical preparation and the dedication that I had -- and I still have -- made the transition a little bit easier for me. A few years later, they converted me to catcher.
YM: How did that go?
FC: It went well! That was my favorite position to play as a position player.
YM: Do you have a greater appreciation for catchers because you learned how hard it is?
FC: I think blocking a ball is really underrated. I throw splitters, and they go down. I kiss every catcher that can block my splitter because I know how hard it is to block a pitch, even if you know it’s coming.
YM: Eventually, you felt like your career was stagnating, and you asked for the opportunity to pitch. What made you believe you could do that?
FC: When I was really young, I used to have the best arm in town. I always had people come up to me and say, “Hey, you’re going to be a pitcher.” Pedro Feliciano, he was a pitcher for the Yankees [organization], too, he always came to me and told me, “Hey, you’re going to pitch. You’ve got the best arm that I’ve ever seen.” [Former Royals pitcher] José Rosado came to me and said, “You’re going to be a pitcher.” I said, “No, I hit too much. I have power. I’m an athlete. I can move.” But in the back of my head, I had heard all those comments. Then I threw my first live BP, and I thought my arm was going to fall off.
YM: Were you terrified going out there for the first time?
FC: I wasn’t terrified. But the next day, I thought I was going to need surgery. I thought it was over. I couldn’t lift my arm. Everything was so painful. But I started working out, I started making the real transition with my shoulder, with my legs. All of a sudden, it started clicking, and I started throwing harder. I started recovering well. I started moving better. Three months later, I was throwing mid-90s. I went to Spring Training, they stuck me in extended spring. I did really bad; I couldn’t pitch. I was just throwing the ball. [The Royals organization] released me in 2012 at the end of the season, and that’s when the real journey started because I had to reinvent myself as a pitcher. I had to just find a way to pitch.
YM: Who did you turn to for help?
FC: A lot of people helped me. In Puerto Rico, I played in a local league called Liga Superior Doble A. It’s a weekend league. I pitched every Friday -- seven innings, eight innings, nine innings; 100 pitches, 150 pitches, whatever. I had to do that to develop myself. Two years later, I got an opportunity to pitch in Double-A with the Cubs. They saw a lot of good stuff in winter ball. They moved me down to High-A; two months later, they brought me back up to Double-A. And I actually finished the last two weeks of the (2015) season in Triple-A. I pitched four innings and gave up 10 runs.
YM: That’s not what you want!
FC: Yeah. In 2016, they released me in Spring Training, and then I played independent ball in New Jersey with the Jackals. I did really, really good. Then I traveled to Mexico and played in Guadalajara. The Reds gave me the opportunity in 2022, so I went to Spring Training with no expectation. In my personal belief, it was impossible.
At the end of Spring Training, they called me into the office. They said, “Congratulations, you made the organization. But we don’t know where you’re going to go.” They sent me to Double-A. I was like, “You’re telling a 32-year-old that he’s going to Double-A?” I was so surprised, but I was really grateful at the same time.
I [instead] went to Triple-A, and Pat Kelly was my manager. He called me to the office and said, “There’s a lot of 40-man guys here. I don’t think you’re going to pitch a lot. But we’re going to find some innings for you.” I said, “I just want the ball. Just give me the opportunity to pitch, and I’m going to find a way to make stuff happen.” He gave me the ball the fifth day of the season. They told me, “You’ve got the ninth.” We were losing, 4-0, but then we scored five runs in the eighth. The save opportunity came. I saved it. I did a really good job. And from that moment on, everything just clicked. In September, I got the call to the big leagues. And we’re here.
YM: What kept you going?
FC: I always had my mom in the back of my head. She died in 2021. But years before she died, she would always tell me, “Papa, keep going. I think you have something really special to give. Something special is going to happen to you.” In 2019, she came to me and told me, “There’s something special coming for you, but it’s not going to happen next year. It’s going to happen two years from now.” I was 29 years old!
YM: Did you believe her?
FC: Yeah, I believed her because everything that she told me would happen happened. The next year, 2020, pandemic -- no baseball. In 2021, I got signed in Mexico, and that’s when I had the opportunity to show off my abilities, and that’s when the Reds picked me up. So, it happened the way she told me.
YM: You’ve spoken about finding religion in 2015. What made that light bulb go on for you?
FC: I came to the point that my wife asked me for a divorce. My life was going through the floor. It was going to go bad if I didn’t make the decision to change who I was. I think adversity is a blessing. Adversity has been the thing that made me make the best decisions in my life, the decision that, “I’ve got to change. I’ve got to make adjustments. I cannot keep doing the same things and expect different results.”
YM: How proud are you of the man you have become?
FC: I’m really proud. I’m proud not only of the man I am right now, but I’m proud of the lives that the Lord has impacted through me and the father that I am and the husband that I am, the friend I am and the human being that I’m called to be.
YM: I know your mom’s no longer with us, but what would she think? What would you have said to her if you had the opportunity to call her and say that you were headed to the big leagues, and that you had been traded to the New York Yankees?
FC: Every day I wake up and I ask that question: What would my mom say right now? I made my mom buy every hat of the New York Yankees. I had maybe 45 different Yankees hats. Jerseys, everything I had was for the Yankees. In my room, everything was Yankees. So, what would I say to her? “Mama, I’m here. I’m fighting to help my team -- my Yankees -- win.”
YM: This is more than a job for you.
FC: Exactly. When we lose, it’s not easy for me. It’s different for me. It’s really impactful when we win and when we lose because I’m a Yankee fan. My mom’s death, she planned it. She made a trade with God. She went to heaven, and she left everything ready for her sons and daughters. After she died, everything happened exactly the way she wanted.
YM: Did you get chills when you put on the pinstripes for the first time?
FC: I get chills every day when I put the pinstripes on. It never gets old for me. It’s just something that means a lot to me, being able to put that uniform on. I put it on, and I say, “Wow. I’m a Yankee.” Every day.
YM: Tell me a little about your splitter. Who taught you to throw it?
FC: Benigno Cepeda. It was 2010. I was a bullpen catcher in Mayagüez, and I used to catch every bullpen he threw to warm up. We were messing around, throwing and talking, like, “Hey, how do you hold your splitter?” He showed me the grip, I started messing around, playing catch with it. Good action, whatever. Next year, I was a pitcher, but I always heard that a splitter would hurt your elbow. I wouldn’t try to throw one for two more years after I decided to pitch.
In 2013, I was pitching in Puerto Rico, and I said, “I’m going to start throwing it.” I started hitting people, bouncing it, really, really struggling with it. But it never disappeared out of my repertoire because I knew I had something special with it because it moved so much. It had so much depth. And I got so many ugly swings. I kept throwing and throwing and perfecting it, and it took me a good seven years to actually throw it regularly.
YM: What was the moment you knew this pitch was just nasty?
FC: The batters tell me with their swings. It will probably look like a fastball, and all of a sudden it disappears down, and they still swing at it. The reaction that I get, it’s like, it’s an unhittable pitch.
YM: A splitter is such a feel pitch. Do you know immediately when you go out there, “OK, I’ve got the good one tonight …” Or, “This could be a long one …”?
FC: It’s such a feel pitch. It’s all about feeling. The first thing I do when I get into the clubhouse is grab a ball and put it between my fingers because it helps me start feeling the ball for the whole day. And when I get into my throwing program, it becomes a natural thing for me. It took me a long time to figure that out.
YM: How do you adjust when it doesn’t feel good, though? How difficult is that to do in a high-leverage situation?
FC: Everything starts with the confidence that you have. I think I have a gift from God. A really special gift that, if I’m here, I just have the confidence to throw it. If I bounce it, throw it. If it’s up, throw it. I need to be able to forget about what you see and just throw it because I’m here because of it. I’m here because I have a special gift and talent of throwing a split and getting swing-and-miss. So, the adjustment for me is just to throw it. It doesn’t matter if it bounces. It doesn’t matter if it goes away from you. You just keep throwing it and throwing it. One is going to click, and when that click comes, it’s over.
YM: If you could pick one batter from baseball history to strike out with your splitter, who would it be?
FC: Alex Rodriguez. He was my favorite player. But I want to strike him out.
YM: Think you could get him?
FC: Yes.
YM: Favorite Yankee of all time?
FC: Mariano Rivera.
YM: Have you met him yet?
FC: Not yet. But he’s my favorite of all time. The determination he had was impressive. I learned a lot about him; I listened to a lot of the interviews. The short memory he had, the concentration he had, being the same person, the neutrality. He was unbelievable.
I have so much respect for those guys. Recognizing greatness is really important. I look like a little kid whenever I see those guys. I think when you recognize those guys, it comes back to you in the same way when you do your good things.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length. Subscribe to the New York Yankees Official Podcast at the podcast app of your choice or yankees.com/podcast. Meredith Marakovits is the field reporter for Yankees broadcasts on YES Network, and the co-host of the New York Yankees Official Podcast. This story appears in the June 2025 edition. Get more articles like this delivered to your doorstep by purchasing a subscription to Yankees Magazine at www.yankees.com/publications.