The Yankees are in a freefall, and their rookie catcher is at the center of it. New York has dropped five in a row and eight of its last ten. The skid has been bad enough on its own. But it’s Austin Wells’ sudden, unexplained disappearance at the plate that has manager Aaron Boone searching for answers.
Boone went on the podcast Talkin’ Yanks this week and didn’t sugarcoat it. He called Wells’ slump “perplexing” — a word that sounds polite but carries real frustration underneath it.
“It’s been perplexing, because, again, I think we’re talking about a guy with offensive talent,” Boone said. “It’s been a struggle to get it out, without question. I really do feel like the last week, since he’s come back, there are some things happening there. I think he’s in a better position. But we gotta start getting results too at some point.”
Wells is hitting .155 for the year with four homers and ten RBIs. That’s ugly. But June has been a different kind of nightmare. He’s slashing .061/.061/.061 this month. A .061 on-base percentage. That’s not a typo. He has exactly one hit in June — a double — and has struck out 11 times.
The low point came when he went 0-for-10 in three games before landing on the injured list. Since returning, the numbers haven’t gotten much better: 2-for-23 with a double, three RBIs and a run scored. That stretch includes a strikeout in nearly half his at-bats.
Boone, for what it’s worth, insists he’s seeing small mechanical signs of life.
“I feel like there’s been a few at-bats that he’s had that I’m like, ‘okay.’ Even when he has not gotten the hit, ‘okay, there it is. It’s starting to happen a little bit.’ Just with his load and how he’s getting on time. It’s better than before he went on the IL.”
The bigger picture
The Yankees are still 48-36 and sitting second in the AL East. But with the Orioles playing like a buzzsaw and the Blue Jays lurking, this kind of slide can turn a comfortable summer into a stressful one fast. The pitching staff has been solid. The top of the lineup — Judge, Soto, Stanton — is doing its job. But you can’t carry a black hole in the lineup for weeks at a time and expect to keep pace.
Wells was never supposed to be a star. He was a first-round pick in 2020, but the expectation was that he’d develop into a steady, average-ish catcher with some pop. Instead, he’s become a question the Yankees can’t answer right now.
New York heads to Detroit on Tuesday night to face the Tigers, hoping to snap the streak. If Wells is in the lineup, all eyes will be on him. Boone happens to be right about one thing: at some point, results have to show up. June is almost over, and they haven’t.
Leave a Comment