The New York Yankees have been tied to Ryan Jeffers for weeks, but there may be a more versatile and long-term solution to their catcher woes.
Hunter Goodman of the Colorado Rockies is having a career year, and the Yankees would be wise to target the 26-year-old via a trade according to ESPN’s David Schoenfeld.
The Yankees catcher position is its biggest hole offensively. They rank 28th in the majors in Offensive fWAR (minus-19.9), since primary starter Austin Wells is slashing .153/.253/.235 with four home runs in 170 at-bats.
The Yankees have been linked to Jeffers, the Minnesota Twins‘ catcher who is on an expiring contract as the most obvious upgrade before Aug. 3.
Yankees Urged to Acquire Hunter Goodman
GettyHunter Goodman could be had from the Colorado Rockies if the Yankees are willing to pay the price.
Jeffers’ name has been the one at the forefront of trade rumors, and it’s an obvious marriage.
The Twins are middling along at four games under .500, and the catcher is one of their most valuable trade assets. Jeffers has a .949 OPS in 148 plate appearances, though he hasn’t played since May 18 due to a broken bone in his hand.
But Yankees GM Brian Cashman likes versatile and controllable assets. Goodman fits the bill, since he can play outfield, catcher and first base, and hit his 27th home run of the season in Colorado’s 6-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday.
“Goodman would be the big get, but with three years of team control beyond 2026, he will be expensive to acquire and a position player with this much time until free agency is basically never traded at the deadline,” Schoenfeld wrote. “Still, we’ve seen the Yankees’ offense struggle without Aaron Judge, so it’s worth it for general manager Brian Cashman to pay the price and upgrade on Wells.”
There could be fans leery of Goodman’s production outside of Coors Field, since Ryan McMahon is a five-time 20-homer guy while playing for the Rockies.
Still, Goodman has hit for power both in Denver and elsewhere. Of his 72 career MLB homers, 38 have come on the road, and he hit 31 homers in 2025, 18 of which came away from Coors Field.
The Yankees May Balk at Hunter Goodman’s Pitch Framing
GettyHunter Goodman is a subpar pitch framer.
From an offensive-upgrade standpoint, acquiring Goodman is a no-brainer. Yet, there is one aspect of his game that may not align with the Yankees’ organizational philosophy.
Goodman is a weak pitch framer. He ranks tied for 44th in catcher framing runs (minus-2) per Statcast, and minus-4 at pitches at the bottom of the strike zone, tied for worst in the majors with Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals.
The Yankees value pitch framing from their catchers and were ahead of the curve on part of the game. For all of their warts, Wells (plus-3, plus-4 at the bottom of the strike zone) and J.C. Escarra (0, plus-2 at the bottom of the zone) are above-average framers and have helped the Yankees’ eighth-ranked Defensive fWAR (9.9).
The Yankees need to make a catcher move, and Goodman fills that need in a lot of ways. But if they don’t acquire the Rockies star, it likely will be due to his subpar pitch framing.
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