The Yankees provide an update on their catcher, Austin Wells. According to Yankees beat writer Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, Yankees Manager Aaron Boone told Kirschner that, “they’ll also get through the weekend before deciding if they will activate Austin Wells or if he’ll need some rehab games”, reported Kirschner.
Wells was put on the IL last weekend due to experiencing “cervical headaches,” in which Wells told the team he was having “neck stiffness on Friday of last week”, reports ESPN. Wells (age 26) has been having a rather disappointing season offensively for the Yankees, posting just a .166 batting average with 4 home runs, 7 RBI’s, and a .533 OPS.
Yankees Weaknesses Have Occurred At Catcher
While Wells has graded well defensively for the Yankees behind the plate, his offensive struggles have been a cause of concern, which resulted in the Yankees re-calling backup catcher JC Escarra from Triple A after optioning him earlier the same day to promote Triple A catcher Ali Sánchez from Triple A last Friday.
The Yankees haven’t gotten much offensive production from Escarra either, who’s posted just a .461 OPS in 70 at-bats as the Yankees’ primary backup catcher. Sanchez (age 29), whom the Yankees promoted last week on Friday from Triple A, has played in three games but has gone 0-6 so far in his plate appearances. Sanchez posted a .702 OPS with 6 home runs and 11 RBI’s in 128 plate appearances for Scranton Wilkes Barre this season.
Yankees beat writer/reporter Bryan Hoch of MLB.com also reports that “Wells is feeling great and resumed baseball activities”, he reports manager Aaron Boone told him. Hoch also reports that the Yankees “haven’t yet decided whether he will need rehab games before being reactivated from the injured list”, states Hoch.
While the timeline for Wells remains rather uncertain, the positivity surrounding this news is certainly apparent. While nobody knows for certain, Wells’ injuries related to this injury could be contributing to his offensive struggles at the plate this season, although he’s been a very sound defender behind the plate and is known to work very well with the Yankees’ pitching staff.
Austin Wells Efficiency With Yankees Pitching Staff
The Yankees as a team have an ERA of 3.36. Much of the credit goes to Wells in that retrospect, who also grades as an elite catcher in pitch framing (93rd percentile), according to Baseball Savant. He’s also above average in blocks above average, currently in the 59th percentile, per Baseball Savant.
The Yankees will most likely be in the market for a catcher at the MLB trade deadline later this year, according to multiple insiders such as Joel Sherman of the New York Post. But if Austin Wells can return from this injury and find it at the plate offensively, then the Yankees will certainly take that possibility.
In the interim, Yankees catchers Ali Sanchez and JC Escarra will split responsibilities until Wells is good enough to go. The Yankees’ catching position continues to be one of their biggest Offensive weaknesses, but perhaps that could change with a healthy Austin Wells or a new catcher at the trade deadline in the coming weeks/months.
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