On the Yankees' search for a backup catcher to Austin Wells

Yesterday at 10:30 AM

The Yankees should ensure they have a capable backup catcher to help their new starter stay fresh.

We've reached a particularly sedentary spot in the offseason. A large portion of the winter's top free agents have signed, and those who remain are unlikely to receive a serious pursuit from the Yankees. Much of New York's lineup and pitching staff is set in stone. Most of what remains to be done is on the far margins of the roster. Like, for instance, the catching depth chart.

Since Austin Wells' midseason emergence at catcher, the Yankees have used their preponderance of catching depth throughout the organization to bring in new talent. Agustin Ramirez was the headliner in the trade which brought Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the Bronx. Carlos Narvaez was involved in a minor swap with the Red Sox for pitching prospect Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz. Most recently, Jose Trevino was dealt to the Reds for well-traveled reliever Fernando Cruz and catcher Alex Jackson.

Right now, it's an open question as to who will be Wells' backup catcher once the season begins. With the understanding that the Yankees have plenty of time to make a move, I'd like to posit that this is a more important issue than it appears. Trevino was a reliable defender, but for the most part, the Yankees didn't have a good alternative to Wells down the stretch last season. That reflected in Wells' statistical downturn at year's end, as the rookie had never caught so many games before in a season. It doesn't take much to fix — and maybe the catching situation will sort itself out — but it wouldn't hurt to bring in another backstop for extra support.

Jackson joins Wells, J.C. Escarra, and Jesus Rodriguez on the 40-man roster. Jackson has bounced around from team to team since his MLB debut in 2019. The common thread in those stints has been a near-complete inability to hit big-league pitching. Last season with the Rays he hit .122/.201/.237, a heinous 29 wRC+. He is a decent framer, but his bat is likely to be such a liability as to negate his value there.

Rodriguez is a prospect who will likely start the season in Double-A and might not necessarily even be a long-term catcher. The most intriguing player of these three in my opinion is Escarra, who signed with the Yankees as a minor-league free agent last year and converted from infielder to catcher. He started the year in Double-A, but he began to catch fire at the dish when he moved up to Triple-A.

Escarra finished the season carrying a .930 OPS with Scranton-Wilkes Barre and has also raked with Aguilas in LIDOM. As a recent convert to catcher, though, his defense isn't likely to be as strong as Jackson's or that of any MLB veteran the Yankees could bring aboard. Defense is really the most important tool for a backup catcher; your bat just has to be regular bad rather than atrocious.

There are regrettably few options of any quality remaining on the free agent market. Yasmani Grandal stands out among that group.

The two-time All-Star revived his career in Pittsburgh after bottoming out with the White Sox. Not only did Grandal look a bit more like himself at the dish with a .704 OPS and 95 wRC+, he retained his mastery of framing, amassing 6 Statcast Catcher Framing Runs in fairly limited playing time. While his horrible 2022-23 seasons are not exactly distant memories, the improvements he made as a 35-year-old with the Pirates speak to how much of a boon it is to get away from the ballpark on the South Side. The only issue is that Grandal might have played well enough that he won't be satisfied merely backing up a key lineup cog like Wells, who will get the lion's share of the starts in 2025.

Other options on the free market include James McCann, who appears to have been replaced in Birdland by Gary Sánchez, as well as 2023 All-Star Game MVP (yes, really) Elias Díaz, and former Met Tomás Nido. From there you start to get into the territory of guys who, like Jackson, were sub-replacement level last season and probably don't have much of a value case.

The Yankees could also make a trade for a backup catcher like the Reds did with Trevino. It's not unusual to see teams deal from a surplus of backstops as Opening Day approaches, as New York did just this past spring with Ben Rortvedt. The 2021-22 lockout affected the timing, but the Yanks also famously acquired Trevino in the first place just before Opening Day 2022, initially to back up Kyle Higashioka. So while we could cast our eyes around the majors for second-tier catchers who are out of options and might be trade bait, it's a bit like throwing darts while blindfolded at this stage. Until there's real incentive for a team to move a reserve catcher who they might need on Opening Day in case of injury, they might well stand pat.

With a full offseason to prepare for the starting role, Wells himself should be better conditioned for the kind of workload he received in the second half of the season. With that in mind, maybe he won't need too much support. But with how much he struggled in September and October, it's best to be on the safe side. Give Wells a capable stablemate to shoulder the catching burden, and it's likely we'll see more consistent production from the new full-time starter.