Manager Aaron Boone said Berti could start at third base Thursday against the Astros if he arrives in Houston with enough time to prepare, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Berti was acquired from the Marlins in a three-team trade Wednesday, and it's possible he's in the lineup for the Yankees a day later for Opening Day. The super-utility player should see significant action at the hot corner early in the season with DJ LeMahieu (foot) and Oswald Peraza (shoulder) beginning the campaign on the injured list.

The Yankees acquired Berti from the Marlins on Wednesday in a three-team trade involving the Rays, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports. John Cruz and Shane Sasaki were sent to the Marlins and Ben Rortvedt went to the Rays in the deal.

EDGE Analysis

Berti provides the Yankees with some protection in the infield with both DJ LeMahieu (foot) and Oswald Peraza (shoulder) sidelined, and he's capable of handling the outfield, as well. He could get some starts at third base early on in the season while LeMahieu is out.

Berti got the start at third base and went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets.

EDGE Analysis

Batting leadoff, Berti drew a free pass off a tiring Jose Quintana in the fifth inning, advanced to third on a Dane Myers single and came around to score on a Jesus Sanchez groundout. Berti has seen most of his action this spring at the hot corner but has also played shortstop for a few games, batting .250 (7-for-28) with a 3:9 BB:K and one steal in two attempts. The 34-year-old will fill a utility role in the Marlins' infield again this season, and while his 16-for-22 performance on the basepaths in 2023 was disappointing, he did record an average sprint speed in the 95th percentile. A bounce-back performance in the category isn't out of the question after he led the majors with 41 steals in 2022.

Berti will slot back into a utility role since Tim Anderson signing with the Marlins on Thursday, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Adding a shortstop this offseason always seemed to be the plan for Miami, as Berti would be a poor fit as the starter even after playing a career-high 64 games at the position in 2023. The 34-year-old has topped 400 plate appearances in each of the last two seasons while seeing time at second base, third base, shortstop and all three outfield positions, although in fantasy leagues with a 20-game threshold for qualification, he'll only be eligible at third and short to begin 2024. The bigger question for his value will be whether he can rebound on the basepaths -- after swiping 41 bags on 46 attempts in 2022, Berti failed to take advantage of the new rules last season and went just 16-for-22 on steal attempts despite maintaining an elite sprint speed (95th percentile).

Berti isn't expected to remain atop the Marlins' depth chart at shortstop as the club looks at available free-agent options, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Tim Anderson is the biggest name still on the market at shortstop, with Amed Rosario, Nick Ahmed and Adalberto Mondesi also said to be on Miami's radar. Berti saw a career-high 424 plate appearances last season, playing 64 games at short but also 41 at third base, 15 at second base and 19 between the corner outfield spots, and the Marlins still view him as a better fit in a utility role. If the team elects not to bring in a free agent, Jacob Amaya and Vidal Brujan could also get looks this spring as potential starting options at shortstop.

The Marlins exercised Berti's $3.63 million team option for 2024 on Monday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

EDGE Analysis

Berti will stick around after slashing .294/.344/.405 with seven home runs and 16 steals over 133 games this season. The 33-year-old utility player offers the Marlins plenty of versatility, but they'll likely be hoping they won't need to use him as often in 2024 as they had to in 2023.

Berti will again start at shortstop and bat eighth Wednesday in Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Phillies.

EDGE Analysis

Berti started at short in Game 1 on Tuesday and went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in what was a 4-1 loss, but the Marlins will continue to roll with the 33-year-old speedster. Garrett Hampson and Joey Wendle are again riding the pine.

Berti is starting at shortstop and batting eighth Tuesday in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Phillies.

EDGE Analysis

Garrett Hampson drew the majority of starts at shortstop in the closing weeks of the 2023 regular season, but the Marlins will ride the hot hand with Berti after he slashed .500/.609/.944 with four homers and two steals across his final 46 plate appearances of the regular season. Hampson is on the bench in Game 1, with Luis Arraez (ankle) returning at second base and Jake Burger manning third base. Joey Wendle will also ride the pine.

Berti went 5-for-7 with two walks, a double, a triple, a solo home run, a second run scored and a stolen base across both games of Wednesday's doubleheader split with the Mets.

EDGE Analysis

After getting the start at second base in the matinee and going 3-for-4 with his double and triple, Berti moved over the third base in the nightcap and completed his pseudo-cycle by leading off the game with his seventh homer of the year against Kodai Senga. Berti has reeled off five multi-hit performances in his last six starts as part of an eight-game hitting streak, and the veteran utility player is batting .583 (14-for-24) over that blistering stretch with seven extra-base hits (two doubles, a triple and four home runs), two steals, six runs and six RBI. The Marlins are currently tied for the final wild-card spot in the NL, and should they make the postseason, Berti's September could become the stuff of legend in Miami.

Berti went 2-for-4 with two home runs, three RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's victory over Milwaukee.

EDGE Analysis

Berti opened the game's scoring with a 428-foot solo shot off Freddy Peralta in the second inning. However, the 33-year-old utility man wasn't finished as he cracked another homer, this time a 411-foot, two-run one, in the eighth inning. Berti appears to have laid claim to a bigger role as he has started four of the last five games, including the past two at shortstop. He is slashing .286/.327/.386 with six homers, 15 steals, 49 runs and 32 RBI over 127 games this season.