The New York Yankees are coming off their worst series of the season–and Austin Wells’ struggles are simultaneously becoming harder and harder to ignore.
The 26-year-old catcher has a dismal .510 OPS this season, and an OPS+ of 43. It’s safe to say, in his sample size, Wells has been one of baseball’s least impactful hitters.
His -0.3 Baseball Reference WAR also highlights the inconsistency he’s managed behind the dish. Although the young backstop excels at framing, he’s well below average in every other defensive metric.
The defense isn’t elite, his bat has been among MLB’s worst, and the Yankees are in a heated playoff race.
Fortunately, manager Aaron Boone has the ultimate confidence that Wells will turn things around.
Chris Kirschner of The Athletic wrote: “Changes behind the scenes have encouraged Boone, Wells, and other Yankees personnel. Wells went 0-for-3 in Saturday’s game, and his attitude afterwards seemed as if he had just hit a walk-off home run in the World Series. In his first at-bat against left-hander Jake Bennett, Wells hit a routine fly ball to center field. He followed that at-bat with a flyout to right field in his second plate appearance. Outs are ultimately outs, but baseball is a process-oriented sport, and those two at-bats were indicative of the progress the Yankees are observing with Wells.”
Regardless of Boone’s optimism, fans are tiring of Wells’ elongated cold streak.
Social Media Reacts to Yankees’ Catching Struggles
Here’s what people are saying:
Talkin’ Yanks: “Austin Wells‘ .510 OPS is the worst by a Yankee in a season since Jim Mason’s .445 OPS in 1976 (minimum 175 plate appearances).”
Gary Phillips: “I thought Austin Wells, who is last in baseball with a .160 average, a .510 OPS and a 45 wRC+ (min 185 PA), did a good job of explaining what he’s worked on with his swing. Whether it yields results remains to be seen, but he definitely shared more insight into that work than the #Yankees have previously:”
@Yank2827: “Excuses without results are meaningless. Why is this guy still on a major league roster. Send him down to work it out or let another team claim him doing it.”
Yankees Stats: “Austin Wells has played in 10 games in June and has recorded 27 PAs. Through this month: – 0 walks – 2 total hits – 1 barrel recorded. He’s got a hard hit percentage of 33%. Running a Chase of 38%. He’s not lifting the ball in the air. Just an absolutely brutal, brutal stretch.”
Brandon Tierney: “People acting like Austin Wells was a combination of Munson and Posada before this year. He’s always been an incredibly inefficient hitter. Power that teased, but an incredibly easy out. It’s just worse this year–not different.”
@CMusky4213: “They will die on this hill just like Gary Sanchez, at least Wells can play some defense, but the lack of contact, leadership, and overall play coincidentally aligns with when we last won in 2009 with Posada and Molina behind the plate.”
Chris Kirschner: “Austin Wells is currently batting .160 on the season. Among every Yankee who has had at least 185 plate appearances in a season, only four times has a player finished with a .160 BA or worse. Joey Gallo in 2021, Joey Gallo in 2022, Jim Mason in 1975, Dick Howser in 1968.”
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