{"id":787979,"date":"2026-07-27T20:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T20:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/787979\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T20:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T20:54:12","slug":"what-im-hearing-about-the-yankees-trade-deadline-pursuit-of-a-catcher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/787979\/","title":{"rendered":"What I\u2019m hearing about the Yankees\u2019 trade deadline pursuit of a catcher"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHILADELPHIA \u2014 The New York Yankees have arguably the best pitching staff in MLB, entering Monday night\u2019s game against the Chicago White Sox with a league-leading 3.41 ERA. That is no small feat given the bullpen began the season with many questions about its viability, and the club has navigated the absences of Gerrit Cole, Max Fried and Carlos Rod\u00f3n from the rotation at various points.<\/p>\n

At the center of the staff\u2019s success is catcher Austin Wells, MLB\u2019s second-worst hitter \u2014 only Ezequiel Tovar of the Colorado Rockies is worse \u2014 among players with at least 230 plate appearances. Although Wells\u2019 underperformance as a hitter is driving the Yankees\u2019 desire to upgrade offensively at catcher before the Aug. 3 trade deadline<\/a>, his valued defense and work with the pitching staff will factor into any move the team could make, according to those in the organization.<\/p>\n

The Yankees have made no secret that they\u2019re looking to upgrade at catcher. General manager Brian Cashman said earlier this month that the position was \u201can issue, clearly.\u201d Only the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox have received less offense at catcher than the Yankees, but that does not mean the club is ready to give up on Wells.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, we expect a lot more out of him offensively,\u201d Yankees manager Aaron Boone said over the weekend in Philadelphia. \u201cHe knows he can hit. He believes he\u2019s a better hitter than he\u2019s certainly shown this year. That\u2019s tough to deal with, but he\u2019s also mature enough and advanced enough in his career that he understands the importance of (being) behind that plate every single day and your role in limiting runs and helping a pitching staff. He\u2019s done a really good job of separating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Multiple team sources, who were granted anonymity in exchange for their candor, said that while the Yankees are likely to add a catcher, it would be surprising if they swung a trade at the top of the market because of that belief in Wells.<\/p>\n

If the Yankees were to trade for, say, Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman, it would mean that Wells would, at most, play a few times per week. As The Athletic\u2019s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon reported in an article Monday morning, clubs are concerned about Goodman\u2019s defense<\/a>. The Yankees require extensive game-planning and quality defense from their catchers. During daily meetings between the Yankees\u2019 starting pitcher and catcher, the catcher delivers comprehensive scouting reports detailing the strategy for attacking the opponent\u2019s lineup.<\/p>\n

How many players will the Mets trade by the deadline?<\/p>\n

Ken Rosenthal and Johnny Sweet<\/p>\n

Integrating a weak defensive catcher in the middle of a season in which the Yankees believe they can compete for a World Series title would be a tall task. Not to mention that Goodman, who comes with club control through 2029, would cost a haul in any trade.<\/p>\n

But if any team could help a bat-first catcher eventually get up to speed, it\u2019s the Yankees. Wells was a bat-first prospect who, years ago, several scouts thought would never become a major-league catcher because of his limitations. Yet not only has Wells become a starting catcher, he\u2019s also established himself as one of the best framers and receivers in baseball. The Yankees\u2019 catching department, led by Tanner Swanson, is highly regarded. Numerous catchers with Yankees ties are littered across MLB, including Jose Trevino, Kyle Higashioka, Rafael Flores, Carlos Narv\u00e1ez, Agustin Ram\u00edrez, Luis Torrens, Alex Jackson, Jes\u00fas Rodr\u00edguez, Omar Martinez and Gary S\u00e1nchez.<\/p>\n

Still, acquiring an unquestioned starting catcher during a stretch run is difficult. That\u2019s why league sources, granted anonymity so they could speak openly, indicate they believe the likeliest path for the Yankees\u2019 catching upgrade remains someone who could share duties with Wells.<\/p>\n

Ryan Jeffers of the Minnesota Twins remains a likely target for the Yankees. The righty-hitting catcher has crushed both left- and right-handed pitching this season, but he has a 99 wRC+ versus righties in his career, which could make him an excellent platoon option with the lefty-hitting Wells. Jeffers also has the benefit of previously playing under Swanson when the coach was with the Twins. Swanson played a key role in the Twins selecting Jeffers in the second round of the 2018 draft.<\/p>\n

Acquiring Jeffers, who will be a free agent after this season, would give the Yankees an up-close look at a catcher they might be interested in signing in the offseason. A league source indicated he expected the Yankees, even if they were not able to land Jeffers in a trade, to engage with him in free agency.<\/p>\n

If the Yankees were not able to trade for Jeffers, sources indicated that the Cincinnati Reds\u2019 Tyler Stephenson and the New York Mets\u2019 Torrens could be of interest. Stephenson comes with defensive questions. He ranks last in the majors in framing but is rated the best in receiving. If there\u2019s an area where the Yankees excel with their catchers, it\u2019s framing. With better technique, Stephenson might be a quick learner and fare better at framing because he possesses elite ability as a receiver. Offensively, Stephenson has struggled versus lefty pitching this season, posting a 70 wRC+, but he has a 111 wRC+ for his career. Torrens, meanwhile, is familiar with the Yankees, having been in their farm system as recently as 2024. He has an 80 wRC+ versus lefties this season and a 95 wRC+ against them in his career.<\/p>\n

Although Stephenson and Torrens might not be the most exciting trade targets, they would offer a major offensive upgrade over what the Yankees are getting now against lefty pitching. Wells has posted an 11 wRC+ against lefties this season. Stephenson and Torrens would give the Yankees more competitive at-bats if they played against lefties.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a glaring need that needs to be addressed. But no matter what the Yankees decide to do before the trade deadline, Wells still figures to be central to the club\u2019s plans at catcher.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHILADELPHIA \u2014 The New York Yankees have arguably the best pitching staff in MLB, entering Monday night\u2019s game…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":787980,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,369,99],"class_list":["post-787979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=787979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/787980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=787979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=787979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=787979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}