Former Uber Driver with Incredible Story Trying to Land with New York Yankees

Baseball fans know the old saying this time of year.

Hope springs eternal.

Loosely, that means a fresh cause of optimism with an inkling that by the end of the season, that hope probably won’t have been rewarded.

Don’t tell that to the supporters of New York Yankees minor leaguer J.C. Escarra. There's plenty of people who believe the former Baltimore Orioles catching prospect, who is in spring training in Tampa, Florida, with the team, could be destined for Yankee Stadium.

After all, he’s been through a lot to get to this point. Joel Sherman of the New York Post shared part of his story with a tantalizing tease on social media.

“Not long ago J.C. Escarra was an Uber driver, a substitute teacher and a Gastonia Honey Hunter. This spring he just might make the Yankees,” read Sherman’s post on X.

https://t.co/WMWF4MCi5h Not long ago J.C. Escarra was an Uber driver, a substitute teacher and a Gastonia Honey Hunter. This spring he just might make the Yankees.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) February 15, 2025

Among those who believe in the 29-year-old is Matt Daley, the Yankees director of scouting, who had this to say to Sherman in an article published Saturday.

“An unbelievable story of perseverance, of willing yourself to get better, of not giving up,” Daley said of Sherman. “It really is. I have goosebumps just talking about it right now, because these are the stories that I think we all live for.”

The Orioles selected Escarra in the fifth round of the 2017 MLB Draft from Florida International University, where he hit .305 with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs as a senior.

He traveled throughout the Baltimore minor league system, from Frederick to Aberdeen to Norfolk to Bowie – becoming a first baseman along the way – before the Orioles released him in April 2022 after nearly 350 games played.

After that, he made four stops in the independent and foreign leagues and vowed to revert to a catcher. How? According to Sherman’s report, he watched videos on the internet.

And because he made not much money through baseball, he delivered food, worked for a contractor, was a high school substitute teacher and a private baseball coach, and drove for Uber to pay the bills, per the Post.

Along the way, Yankees scout Raul Gonzalez discovered him before the 2024 season, and the Yankees said they wanted to sign him to a minor-league deal to catch, play first base or serve as the DH. After 72 games at Double-A Somerset, where he hit a so-so .233, he was promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He batted .302 with eight home runs and 34 BRIs in 52 games.

After that showing, the Yankees put him on the 40-man roster, securing his spot in Tampa this month. In the interim, he won the Dominican Winter League batting title with a .363 average.

His willingness to do anything to get another chance is what sold the Yankees on him.

“That’s what sealed the deal for us, is like this kid was checking his ego at the door and was willing to do whatever it took to kind of make a name for himself,” Daley told the Post. “We took a chance on him and it has paid off more than anyone could imagine.”

Escarra currently is listed third on the Yankees depth chart behind Austin Wells and Alex Jackson. But after the route he’s taken to this opportunity, he doesn’t seem fazed.

“I will make that Opening Day roster. I believe it,” he said, per the Post.

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