The Yankees signed Cervelli as an international free agent in 2003. He made his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2008, and he played on the 2009 World Series championship team that beat the Philadelphia Phillies. He also played in the 2009 World Baseball Classic for the Italian national team, as he will again in 2017. He was acquired by the Pirates on November 12, 2014.

Francisco Cervelli Navarro was born on March 6, 1986 in Valencia, Venezuela to an Italian immigrant father, Manuel Cervelli, and a Venezuelan mother, Damelis Navarro. He also has a sister. In Venezuela, Cervelli played shortstop, second base, and sometimes pitched. The Yankees signed him as an international free agent with the understanding that he would try catching.

Cervelli played in the Dominican Summer League in 2003. Initially a switch hitter, the Yankees had Cervelli focus on right-handed hitting.

After struggling to adjust to professional baseball in 2004 and 2005, Cervelli batted .309 for the Staten Island Yankees of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League in 2006. In 2007, he played for the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, where he batted .279 with an on-base percentage of .387 and two home runs. Baseball America rated him the Yankees' 23rd-best prospect prior to the 2008 season.

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