Austin Wells Making Strong Case to Remain Yankees’ Starting Catcher

The New York Yankees didn't trade for a catcher, and now Austin Wells needs to repay their faith in him.

New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells (28) is starting to turn things around at the plate, which the team desperately needs. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There's something about homering against the Tampa Bay Rays that seems to fix Austin Wells. Last season, during his 2025 campaign with the New York Yankees, after a stint in which the lefty backstop got benched and Ben Rice took over catching duties, he had a two-homer game in late August against Tampa and turned his season around. He slashed .271/.319/.553 with a 137 wRC+ the rest of the way.

The same has happened again this year. During that four-game set against the Rays, where the two division rivals split the series, Wells homered twice. Since July 9th, when Wells first homered against Tampa, he has hit .269/.377/.558 with a 163 wRC+. He also has four homers, three doubles, and 7 RBI.

At that point in the season, Wells was one of the worst everyday hitters in baseball. His 63 wRC+ for the year still isn't great and is well below what's considered league average, but at that point, he had a 33 wRC+.

Wells' bat has never been what the Yankees expected when they called him up, but not even they could have figured he'd be that bad. Still, credit to Wells for turning his season around.

Austin Wells is once again wearing his Thurman Munson inspired catcher's gear for Old Timer's Day

He also walked Diana Munson out onto the field during introductions pic.twitter.com/cbr7rmvJJM

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 8, 2026

One thing that shows this may not just be a flukey streak where Wells is running into bad pitches came over the weekend against the Braves. With Chris Sale on the mound, Wells scorched a double off of him.

One thing Sale does best these days is neutralizing lefties. Wells' opposite-field double, which came off his bat at 94.1 MPH, was actually the eighth extra-base hit that a lefty hit against the southpaw ace.

A solid foundation up the middle

If the Yankees are going to make any noise in the American League, and knowing that they didn't upgrade at catcher, this can't be a momentary streak for Wells. He has to keep hitting this way. Over in Boston, they landed Brian Cashman's top catching target in Adley Rutschman, and if there's one goal that Wells should have in mind, it's outplaying the once-top pick in Major League Baseball.

New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman watched as the Boston Red Sox acquired Adley Rutschman (left) at the trade deadline. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

More than just a simple matter of pride, though, one thing they never got with the previous crop of top prospects in him, Anthony Volpe, and Jasson Dominguez, is solid production up the middle.

There's an opportunity for the Yankees to get that now with Spencer Jones potentially playing in center field, George Lombard Jr. at short, and Wells, the last man standing from the original trio, finally showing signs of life at catcher.

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