Despite acquiring two bats in Luis Garcia Jr. and Heliot Ramos, the New York Yankees' activity during the trade deadline is considered to be a significant disappointment.
Garcia and Ramos were the Yankees' only two additions at the deadline, and the only other move they made was to ship Camilo Doval off to the Pittsburgh Pirates. New York had other needs like bullpen help and a catcher (preferably a right-handed hitting one), but they failed to address these areas while division rivals like the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox did.
An upgrade at catcher, in particular, was the Yankees' biggest need. Starting backstop Austin Wells and backups Ali Sanchez and J.C. Escarra have combined for a .191/.269/.301 slash line and a 61 wRC+ as of August 4; only the Los Angeles Angels (60), Philadelphia Phillies (56) and Chicago White Sox (42) have gotten less offensive production from their catchers. Yet, no catching help came while the Rays and Red Sox landed Liam Hicks and Adley Rutschman, respectively.
In the aftermath of the deadline, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman explained why he was unable to bring in another backstop.
"We do believe that we have quality catching. But obviously the offensive side, which has been a struggle for our team overall, made us certainly shop in that aisle," Cashman said. "At the end of the day, there was no opportunity that existed for us that we felt good enough about to push through on."
The Yankees did talk to the Baltimore Orioles about Rutschman before he ultimately landed in Boston, but he ultimately proved to be too costly for what Cashman was willing to offer.
"We had many conversations with Baltimore, but were unable to meet the price. So they did their business elsewhere, and we kept grinding through it."
The Orioles got a package from Boston headlined by top pitching prospect Anthony Eyanson. A report from Joel Sherman of the New York Post indicated that starting pitcher Elmer Rodriguez was a point of discussion between the Yankees and Orioles, but the Red Sox's offer proved to be greater than what the Yankees felt comfortable with matching, if they could at all.
Brian Cashman, Yankees Maintain Faith in Austin Wells
Even if the Yankees were able to land a catcher, it's obvious that they wouldn't have given up on Austin Wells. Having been viewed as the team's catcher of the future, this season has basically been the worst-case scenario for Wells in nearly every offensive regard; in his first 62 games, the 27-year-old hit an abhorrent .148/.243/.225 with just 10 RBI and a 33 wRC+.
However, Wells hit 21 home runs the previous season, and was a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 2024. He combined for 6.5 fWAR over those two seasons with roughly league average offensive statistics and excellent defense. With how much value Wells brings behind the plate, all the Yankees needed was respectable production at the plate for a net positive total value.
Needless to say, that hasn't been the case this year. But Cashman still remains confident in Wells' ability to turn things around, using his recent performances as examples.
"Austin has been getting his offense going. This past month has been a much more successful version of him, and a much closer version to what he's capable of," Cashman said. "He is extremely talented, knowledgeable in how he's handling our staff, and he does possess a lot of potential with that bat. Hopefully he's starting to finally tap into it."
Although it's a small sample size of 47 plate appearances over 16 games, Wells has shown improvement since July 9 by hitting .256/.383/.590 with four home runs, six RBI and seven runs scored. This included a home run on Monday against the St. Louis Cardinals as part of a two-hit night. If he can maintain this level of production down the stretch, then the Yankees' lineup becomes much more dangerous.
The bigger problem of not getting a catcher is that Ali Sanchez and J.C. Escarra are replacement-level players at best. For games where Wells needs the day off, those two are not adequate producers to the lineup, while Sanchez additionally made a costly throwing error that ultimately cost New York a game against the Chicago White Sox. Every game matters at this point of the season, and the Yankees cannot afford any mistakes like that.
Had the Yankees been able to land Rutschman, make a blockbuster deal for Hunter Goodman or convince the Twins to trade Ryan Jeffers, they wouldn't need to completely rely on Wells turning his season around. Even getting a right-handed catcher like Tyler Stephenson would take some pressure off of Wells.
But as it stands, the Yankees will roll with what they've got behind the dish - for better or worse.
