Yankees' Ongoing Catcher Concerns Should Have Them Calling the Rockies ASAP for a Trade

The Yankees have been a mess at catcher all season long, and an already-bad situation has become more frustrating in recent days. Austin Wells—who's been hitting poorly all year—landed on the injured reserve with a neck issue over the week, forcing the Yankees to recall J.C. Escarra a day after he was demoted to Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes-Barre and to promote Ali Sánchez for his first big-league call-up of the season.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Escarra and Sánchez aren't long-term solutions to what's going on behind home plate. Escarra has already proven to be a part of the problem—not a solution—while Sánchez is a 29-year-old journeyman who's batting .180 with a .447 OPS and minus-0.9 WAR in 51 career MLB games. Even when Wells returns, his anemic performance (four home runs, seven RBIs in 47 games) should prompt New York to seek an upgrade.

Some potential catcher upgrades—like the Orioles' Adley Rutschman—might be harder to acquire than others. Fortunately, the Yankees could have an acquirable target waiting for them in the Mile High City.

All statistics used are as of Monday, June 8.

Yankees trade target: Hunter Goodman is a potential answer to the catcher problem

A lot of Yankees fans would love to see the team acquire a right-handed catcher, not named Sánchez. With the Rockies—sitting 24-42 as of Monday afternoon—looking like trade deadline sellers, Hunter Goodman is someone who should interest New York general manager Brian Cashman.

Goodman, 26, is one of the Rockies' top trade chips if they head down that route. The former Memphis Tiger has two arbitration years remaining on his contract after the 2026 campaign, giving Colorado some leverage while also offering potential suitors a multi-year catcher solution.

Hunter Goodman with his mask up. — Hunter Goodman is a right-handed catcher who could give the Yankees a serious boost. | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Goodman would be a huge upgrade over the Wells-Escarra tandem, especially if he can recreate his 2025 magic. The Arlington, TN native was an MLB All-Star Game participant and Silver Slugger last season, a year in which he slashed .278/.323/.520 with 31 home runs, 91 RBIs, and had a career-low 26.3% strikeout rate.

Although he isn't matching that performance this season, Goodman is still playing much better than the Yankees' current catching options. In fact, here's how his performance stacks up to what Wells and Escarra have done so far.

Statistic	Hunter Goodman	Austin Wells + J.C. Escarra
Games played	60	70
At-bats	227	207
Hits	55	35
Runs	39	20
Home runs	17	4
RBIs	31	14
Walks	20	28
WAR	1.8	-0.3
Strikeouts	85	60
Batting average	.242	.169

It's extremely easy to see how Goodman is a much more productive hitter than the Yankees' duo. The fact that he's registered 20 more hits, 19 more runs, and 13 more homers than Wells and Escarra despite only seeing 20 more at-bats is something that shouldn't be glossed over.

One thing that Wells has going for him is his defense and pitch-calling, as his plus-4 catcher framing runs rank fifth-best on Baseball Savant. He also has only one error in 400 2/3 innings this season. On the flip side, Goodman ranks 25th regarding CFR and also has a National League-worst five errors in 373 2/3 innings.

That's a stark difference, but it's fair to say that Goodman's offensive upside should outweigh any potential defensive concerns. He might also need a fresh start after being stuck with the Rockies for the last few years, and it'd be interesting to see what major league quality control coach and director of catching Tanner Swanson—who has a great track record during his time in the Bronx—could do with Goodman.

With Goodman already being a proven 30-HR hitter, the Yankees will likely need a solid package of prospects to force the Rockies' hand, especially given the remaining team control. Having said that, New York has a plethora of pitching prospects it could trade and might even be willing to include a bat like Spencer Jones's if it means solving the catcher problem once and for all.

COL - Hunter Goodman Solo HR (17)

📏 424 ft | 💨 99.9 mph | 📐 26°
⚾️ 76.9 mph changeup (MIL - RHP Craig Yoho)
🏟️ Out in 28/30 parks

MIL (12) @ COL (4)
🔻 9th#Rockies pic.twitter.com/C3Ovh8sUJO
— MLB Home Runs (@MLBHRs_) June 7, 2026

The Yankees will have a harder time challenging for the World Series if the status quo in their catcher room remains. To avoid that, trading for a game-changing backstop like Hunter Goodman is the way to go.

Will it take a big effort and some top prospects to get the job done? Most definitely, but it'll be worth it if the 26-year-old's bat lives up to its reputation while solving a catcher issue that New York can't allow to exist any longer.

Let's hope that this potential trade with the Rockies goes better than last year's Ryan McMahon deal for the Yankees' sake.

Add us as a preferred source on Google