New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone has sent a stern message to Austin Wells ahead of the New York Mets series.
Wells is the Yankees’ starting catcher, but he has struggled this season, and Boone wants more from him.
“I expect there to be more in there,” Boone said about Wells. “I feel like he’s capable of more. It’s been a little bit of a struggle. I feel like he’s had, for the most part, some pretty steady at-bats against right-handed pitching. I like the fact that he is walking a little bit, but he’s capable of more.”
Wells was an impact hitter for the Yankees last season, but this year, the veteran catcher has struggled, and Boone has now called him out.
Wells is hitting .180 with 3 home runs and 5 RBIs in 100 at-bats, as his bat has gone cold this season. Last season, he hit .219 with 21 home runs and 71 RBIs, showing there is more power in the bat that Wells isn’t showing this season.
Although Wells is struggling at the plate, so too is backup catcher J.C. Escarra, who’s hitting .182 with just 6 RBIs as he has 8 hits in 44 at-bats.
Wells Has Improved Defensive Game
Although Wells has struggled at the plate, his defensive game has gotten better.
Wells has improved defensively, which he said was a goal, as he knows he wasn’t a good catcher by MLB standards.
“I knew I wasn’t good, per se, but I knew that the work that I was doing was going to end up where I needed to be,” Wells said. “And that I’d continue to do that work to get where I wanted to be in the end. I think the more experience that I’ve gotten, and the easier that it comes, the more that I realize that what I was doing before isn’t even close to the level that I am now.”
Although Wells is a much better defensive catcher, his offense has taken a hit this season, and Boone and the Yankees want more from him.
Yankees Eager for Mets Series
New York, meanwhile, will begin a three-game road series against the Mets on Friday as part of the Subway Series.
Although the Mets got off to a bad start, New York has started to play better, and Aaron Judge admits he isn’t sure why they were bad to begin the year.
“I really don’t understand it,” Judge said of the Mets’ struggles. “They’ve got a great manager with (Carlos Mendoza) over there. They’ve got a great lineup, a great pitching staff. It’s baseball. … You can’t really judge a team off of six weeks of the season. If you did that, you could take six weeks that we’re struggling and say we’re the worst team out there. They’ve got a good ball club over there.”
The Yankees, meanwhile, are looking to get back on track after a disappointing road trip.
“It’s a tough road trip,” Judge said. “You’re gonna have two or three of those during the year. It’s about how you respond. Nothing we can do about it now.”
New York is 27-17 and in second place in the AL East.
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