When the Yankees signed J.C. Escarra to a Minor League deal ahead of the 2024 season, the thought of him being a big-league contributor at the catching position was nothing more than a dream.
Austin Wells and Jose Trevino were the Yankees’ backstop duo at the time, with Carlos Narvaez in Triple-A, who was on the 40-man roster.
Ben Rice was also still catching and had taken the prospect world by storm with an insane heater in 2023, which translated into a 2024 call-up.
Fast-forward to today, and Escarra has become this team’s backup catcher, making a massive impact on both sides of the ball as he’s provided a solid bat with elite framing abilities.
Another feather in the cap of Tanner Swanson, the team’s catching coordinator, J.C. Escarra’s success story continues to become even more unbelievable.
J.C. Escarra Has Come Up Big For the Yankees in 2025
Despite having just 119 innings behind the plate, J.C. Escarra has been the fifth-best framer on FanGraphs (+3.1), as he’s been a massive difference-maker for various pitchers on this team.
Austin Wells is a great framer as well, ranking third in Framing Runs (+4.8), but catchers cannot play every day, and the Yankees have been able to keep their framing advantage with Escarra.
There was some concern that losing Jose Trevino would hurt the team’s overall defensive abilities at catcher, seeing that he was arguably the best defensive catcher in the sport with the Yankees.
The Yankees lead all of baseball in Framing Runs (+7) despite losing Jose Trevino, and they’re poised to remain one of the best defensive teams in the sport at the catching position.
Defense is a massive part of evaluating a catcher, but Escarra has also provided value with his bat, bringing a patient approach with excellent contact skills.
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In 20 games, J.C. Escarra is slashing .245/.345/.388 with a .325 xwOBA, as he’s been an above-average hitter in his brief MLB sample size.
He grades out in the 87th Percentile in Chase% and the 78th Percentile in Zone Contact%, skills that lead to good at-bats and tough outs for pitchers.
Escarra also has a quick bat speed, and while we haven’t seen the power click just yet, I believe Escarra can do enough damage on contact to hit some home runs or extra base hits when a pitcher misses their target in-zone.
Even if he ends his season with a ~90 wRC+, the bat is better than what most teams get from their backup catcher while also getting elite defensive value.
The Yankees have a 2.72 ERA when he catches, and the pitching staff has taken a liking to him alongside Austin Wells, despite both players only being here for 1-2 years.
With two elite framers, the Yankees get production from the catching position in every game, and J.C. Escarra has become the perfect backup catcher for this team.