Yankees Catcher In Danger of Losing Job

There's plenty of blame to go around for the New York Yankees' free fall over the past two months, but the struggles of the club's starting catcher have seemingly flown a bit under the radar.

Austin Wells came into the season with some rather high expectations placed upon him following a fruitful rookie campaign in 2024, during which he appeared in 115 games. Over that stretch, the left-handed hitter slashed .229/.322/.395 with 13 home runs, 55 RBIs and a 106 wRC+ while posting 12 Framing Runs, per Baseball Savant, which ranked in the 96th percentile.

While Wells never found his footing amidst the Yankees' run to the World Series last fall, batting .120/.200/.260 in the playoffs, he finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting and looked to be blossoming into a potential star behind the plate.

The 26-year-old got off to a fast start in 2025, slashing .224/.288/.464 with 11 homers, 43 RBIs and 1.9 fWAR through June 15, but his performance has fallen off a cliff ever since.

From June 16 through August 3, Wells has hit .180/.227/.330 in 110 plate appearances. His 51 wRC+ and .557 OPS both rank as the second-worst marks among catchers with at least 100 trips to the plate over that span.

While Wells remains a stout defender, evidenced by his eight Framing Runs and four Blocks Above Average this season, he's providing next to nothing offensively. He's recorded a hit in just three of his last 10 games, dropping his season-long OPS to .687, and he hasn't logged multiple hits in a single contest since July 9.

Wells made an inexcusable mistake on the base paths during the Yankees' bout with the Tampa Bay Rays on July 30 as well, advancing to second base on a bunt in the ninth inning before forgetting there were two outs instead of three and getting tagged out to send the game to extras.