Saturday was a day game after a night game. It was expected. Monday was different — Monday marked the second time in three games Austin Wells was on the bench.
Rare for the team’s starting catcher.
“He’s been struggling a bit, obviously, offensively. A part of it is I want to keep Ben [Rice] in there, and I think Ben has done a really good job behind the plate, too,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees opened a three-game series against the Twins in The Bronx with a 6-2 victory. “There’s that. That also allows [Paul] Goldschmidt to be in the lineup. It’s just trying to get the best grouping out there, day in and day out, to give us a chance to win a game.”
Could it be a trend? Could Wells see less playing time moving forward? Boone wasn’t ready to go there, despite raving about Rice’s play behind the plate on a night when he homered and singled. Wells, he insisted, is too important to their success. He’s too valuable. The manager still believes in him, but he felt it was worth giving him a breather to get both Rice and Goldschmidt in the lineup.
It was understandable, considering Wells’ lack of production of late. He is in the midst of a 5-for-47 drought. He has just three extra-base hits, only one of them a homer, since July 8 . His OPS has fallen to a meager .679, and his batting average sits at an anemic .208.
“There’s been a lot of production in there, too: 15 homers, [56] RBIs. He’s had some big hits for us. He’s had some good stretches for us,” Boone said. “But it feels like over the last month, it’s been a grind for him. Kind of working on different things, all to try to get that feeling.”
Wells believes he’s close, that he’s just missing his pitch. He likes how he has approached his at-bats more of late, even if the production isn’t there.
“I’m just off the barrel on a lot of breaking balls, so I’m trying to put my body in position to hit those, as well as fastballs,” the 26-year-old catcher said. “I think I know I’m getting a lot of off speed [pitches], too, and I’m seeing it well, it’s just a matter of getting my body in the right position to hit a little harder and not at people.”
Wells doesn’t have much time to get going. Just 43 games remain, and the Yankees have to start winning more frequently. Right now, there is at least an argument to be made that Rice behind the plate gives them a better chance to do that.
