Yankees Insider Provides Pivotal Opening Day Roster Update

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Michael DeRosa | Last updated Mar 19, 2025 10:17 AM ET

The New York Yankees play their first game of the regular season on March 27 against the Milwaukee Brewers. With this, they have some decisions over the next week regarding their Opening Day roster.

However, when it comes to the Yankees' catching, it appears that a frontrunner has emerged for the backup spot behind starter Austin Wells.

According to YES Network's Jack Curry , J.C. Escarra has "a stranglehold" on the Yankees' backup catcher spot due to his excellent play at Spring Training.

There is no question that Escarra has been impressing at the plate this spring. In 41 at-bats, the 29-year-old has three home runs, seven RBIs, 14 hits, and a .341 batting average. With this, it is understandable that the Hialeah, Florida native has a good chance of securing the backup catcher spot on the Yankees' roster.

Escarra undoubtedly showed off his potential at the plate this past season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, too. In 52 games, he had eight home runs, 34 RBIs, and a .302 batting average.

If Escarra successfully makes the Yankees' Opening Day roster, it would make for a great story. This is because the former Uber driver has spent several years developing his game in the minor leagues in the hopes of one day making it up to the big leagues. With this update from Curry, it seems likely that he is finally going to get his chance to play in the majors. We will need to wait and see if it comes to fruition from here.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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