The New York Yankees have a young star in the making in young catcher Austin Wells. He is actually a big AL Rookie of the Year candidate, having logged a .717 OPS and 13 home runs in the regular season with some excellent work in the framing and blocking departments.
Unfortunately, the performance just hasn’t been there in the postseason and that has forced Yankees manager Aaron Boone to sit him ahead of the pivotal Game 3 in the Bronx.
“Jose Trevino starts at catcher for the Yankees in Game 3,” MLB senior insider Buster Olney reported on X.
It has been quite a fall from grace for a player who was the Yankees’ cleanup hitter just a couple of weeks ago. Now, New York is opting for a player with clearly inferior offensive upside in Trevino, but the team has no choice given Wells’ deep struggles.
The Yankees had to make a move at the catcher position
In the postseason, Wells has just four hits in 11 games and is hitting .098 with a horrible .330 OPS. His at-bats have been extremely poor, continually letting hittable pitches near the middle of the zone go by and swinging at offerings outside the strike zone.
He looks off and out of sync. Trevino is also a terrific defender behind the plate, and even though he is not as good with the bat, there is a big chance his at-bats against the Dodgers are more competitive than Wells’ right now.
In any case, Wells should be available as a pinch-hitter bat against a right-handed reliever late in the game should the situation require it.
The Yankees are in a 0-2 hole in the World Series, and every detail counts. Right now, and as hard to believe as it might sound, Trevino is more of an offensive threat than Wells.