NEW YORK – Two weeks ago, Austin Wells expressed frustration with his performance as the Yankees’ starting catcher, using the word “terrible” to describe his stat line. There may now be a better explanation for those underwhelming results.
Wells was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday after being diagnosed with cervical headaches, adding another layer of uncertainty to a catching situation that has shifted dramatically within the past 24 hours.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wells complained late Friday about neck discomfort and headaches. Concussion testing was negative, and the team plans for Wells to go through a battery of tests on Sunday.
“Catchers get hit, so it’s tough to say if it’s cumulative stuff,” Boone said after the Yankees’ scheduled game against the Red Sox was postponed on Saturday. “[Friday] night he noticed that he felt like just with his neck and headache stuff, so obviously we wanted to look into that.”
In a corresponding move, the Yankees recalled catcher J.C. Escarra from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Escarra had been optioned to the Minors after Friday’s 5-3 loss to the Red Sox, with Ali Sánchez promoted to the Majors. Wells’ situation spurred a quick change of plans.
“Late last night after Austin had come in, I had called J.C. to say, ‘Don’t go to Scranton yet,’” Boone said. “He was staying in New York and was kind of packing up his place and stuff.”
Wells was slashing .166/.278/.255 with four home runs and seven RBIs through 47 games. He slashed .219/.275/.436 with 21 homers and 71 RBIs in 126 games last year.
Boone said Wells’ timeline will depend on the results of Sunday’s tests, noting, “Hopefully, it’s short.”
So for now, the Yankees will field a catching tandem of Escarra and Sánchez.
Entering Saturday, the Yankees ranked 28th in the Majors in catchers’ OPS (.527), 29th in batting average (.171), 25th in on-base percentage (.268) and 28th in slugging percentage (.259).
Sánchez said he was “a little surprised” when word of his promotion filtered through the dugout on Friday evening, about halfway through his RailRiders’ combined no-hitter of the Syracuse Mets.
“They told me to leave quietly,” Sánchez said on Saturday. “But the boys, when they saw me picking up everything, packing everything up – they got a little excited, too.”
It does not appear, at the moment, that the Yankees will reverse course and return Ben Rice to a catching role. General manager Brian Cashman said Friday that was something the team would “kick around down the line.”
Though Rice caught 36 games in the Majors last season (26 starts), Boone said the Yankees are thinking of him more as a first baseman, in part to protect his offense – including a team-leading 18 homers entering play on Saturday.
Boone said he felt Rice was physically taxed by catching bullpens this spring, and the team has aimed to simplify his workload. Rice has continued to participate in pitching meetings as a third catcher.
“It doesn’t mean we won’t get to that point,” Boone said, “but it’s not on the board right now.”
Boone described Sánchez as having “a great reputation as a defensive catcher.”
Sánchez has batted .183 (22-for-120) across parts of four Major League seasons, including brief stints with the Blue Jays and Red Sox last year.
At Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Sánchez was batting .227 (29-for-128) with six home runs and 11 RBIs in 40 games.
“Hopefully, Ali can come up here and provide a little bit of a spark,” Boone said.