Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay said during last night’s Yankees vs the A’s game in Sacramento that backup catcher JC Escarra told him before the game that he’s trying to “become a switch hitter”, reported Kay. The reason for this report, Kay says, is that Escarra told him he basically “does everything right-handed except for batting”, and that Escarra understands the Yankees are in the market for a right-handed hitting catcher, so he’s trying to be resourceful and help the team.
Kay further mentions that Escarra has been working on this before games in the cage, where he’s hit from the right-hand side, and that Escarra thinks he can learn to do it if there’s a chance. He could “maybe be the team’s answer as a right-handed hitting catcher”, clarifies Kay.
Escarra (age 31) has a .186 batting average in 21 games this season, with no home runs, 7 RBI, and a .517 OPS. The Yankees have gotten little to nothing offensively from the catcher’s position in 2026, in which the Yankees’ primary starting catcher, Austin Wells, has a .180 batting average with 4 home runs, seven RBI’s, and just a .568 OPS.
Yankees haven’t gotten much offensively from both catchers
However, Wells is regarded as a much better defensive catcher than Escarra, which is why Wells remains the primary starting catcher. It’s interesting out-of-the-box thinking for Escarra, but he himself has also had his struggles offensively this season. It’s no secret that the Yankees will be in the market for a right-handed hitting catcher at the trade deadline, considering both their catchers are left-handed, so that it would provide manager Aaron Boone with some flexibility.
The possibility is that there’s someone out there who could provide a bit of offensive production at the position. One name thrown out there a lot is Twins starting catcher Ryan Jeffers, who has a .949 OPS this season and can hit left-handed pitching very well, except a hamate fracture he sustained a few weeks ago will have him sidelined for at least 6-8 weeks, according to Matthew Leach of MLB.com.
Yankees looking for right handed hitting catcher
Other names floated out there for a right-handed-hitting catcher have been Christian Vasquez of the Houston Astros, Hunter Goodman of the Colorado Rockies, and Miguel Amaya of the Chicago Cubs. To Wells’ credit, the Yankees’ starting rotation has been one of the best in baseball, and with him ranking in the 95th percentile amongst catchers for pitch framing and being above average in blocks according to Baseball Savant, he deserves credit for his approach behind the plate with the Yankees’ pitchers.
The Yankees drafted Wells as a hitting-first catcher with long-term defensive concerns, but so far in his career, that’s been the exact opposite. Whether JC Escarra could actually learn to hit right-handed and be effective at it remains to be seen. It’s also a mystery whether the Yankees will actually add a right-handed-hitting catcher at the deadline, considering offensive production from catchers across the league is down as a whole. But from a simple roster construction and flexibility standpoint, it doesn’t make sense to have all your catchers being left-handed, including Ben Rice, who’s viewed more as a third-string emergency backup catcher.
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