Austin Wells, who has been in a slump this season, was sitting for the second time in three games on Monday as the Yankees defeated the Twins 6-2 in their series opener.
The Bombers’ primary catcher, Wells, has been difficult to watch in the batter’s box this season while being praised for his receiving abilities. He is batting just.208/.267/.412 with 15 home runs, 56 RBI, and an 84 WRC+. He has been much worse since homering in three consecutive games from July 5–8, slashing.156/.200/.234 across 19 games. He is one of the Yankees’ more disappointing hitters.
Aaron Boone stated that he has been having some offensive difficulties. He is a really competent and good hitter, in my opinion. He truly lengthens our lineup when he’s right, so we need to get him to the point where he is a crucial member of our team.
Boone asked Ben Rice to catch again on Monday since Wells was on the bench. The hard-hitting sophomore smacked a solo home run and finished 2-for-4.
Rice is now hitting.235/.326/.463 with a 120 wRC+, 38 RBI, and 17 home runs. Since Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge started to often occupy the DH spot, the natural catcher has been getting starts behind the plate, even though he started the season primarily DHing and playing first.
Rice made his sixth catching start since July 26 on Monday. Prior to that, he had only five such starts.
After Monday’s game, an impressed Boone remarked, “I feel like he’s getting more and more comfortable back there.” The game seems to be slowing down for him a bit back there, but I’m seeing an increasing amount of presence and confidence.
Boone was asked if he could envision Rice receiving the majority of the catching reps going forward, given that Wells was scuffling and Rice’s bat was a needed force in the lineup.
“I’m not sure,” Boone said. We shall see.
When comparing Wells and Rice’s offensive numbers this season, that’s a reasonable question, but Boone was obviously not interested in talking about it right now.
Luckily for Wells, he thinks he understands exactly why he has been so inconsistent at the plate.
The 26-year-old told the Daily News, “I haven’t hit the breaking ball very well, the slider in particular.”
Wells claimed that although he is hitting, this issue has only recently arisen.Slugging and 137.According to Baseball Savant, there have been 242 versus breaking balls this season.
In the case of sliders in particular, the figures drop to.085 and.213, respectively. Wells is hitting.045 and slugging.182 against sliders, which are considerably more difficult for him.
As a reference, Wells’ slugging % and average against fastballs are.269 and.491, respectively, while his slugging percentage against offspeed pitches is.158 and.351, respectively.
Wells claimed that opponents have been giving him more and more breaking balls because of his extreme splits. He added that he has been pressing a little bit, which has made his offensive problems worse.
Wells remarked, “I think they are definitely aware of it.” For the most part, I feel like the opening pitches in my last 40 at-bats have all been breaking balls.
Wells responded that he needed to position his body more effectively in order to smash sliders when asked how he could resolve this issue.
“I hit sliders every day before games, so it’s more of a feel thing,” he said. It isn’t the ability to hit it, therefore. In my opinion, it’s simply the capacity to adapt to it.
Wells also said that he had a very poor on-base percentage. Among all players with at least 300 at-bats on Monday, his.267 mark was actually the fifth-worst OBP.
Wells, who finished his minor league career with a.370 OBP and a.322 OPB as a rookie the previous season, said he might chase less. His chase rate increased from 25.5% in 2024 to 30.4% in 2025, proving that he is correct.
However, Wells added, “I also believe that I’m making more contact than I’ve ever made before.” Therefore, I believe that some of the balls I’m swinging at—those that might not be the best to drive—are getting put into play instead of being missed or fouled off. Thus, I believe that it also stems from the capacity to delve deeper into at-bats and perhaps work a walk or something similar.
Wells’ bad contact and barrel percentages have actually improved, although he is only marginally making more contact overall than he did the previous year (75.4% in 2024 vs. 75.5% in 2025). But this season, Wells is getting under balls more frequently—at a rate of 35.3%.
Since Wells is in his first full season as a big league starter, another idea is that his offense is suffering as a result of his catching workload. But Boone and Wells don’t agree with that.
Every catcher must cope with the rigors of the lengthy season, according to Boone. Having fellow catchers Rice and J.C. Escarra on the active roster for the majority of the season allowed him to avoid having Wells play three days in a row, he added.
Boone stated, “I don’t think it’s a workload thing.” He should be able to manage the task, in my opinion.
Wells, who felt a little worn out at the close of the previous season, completely agreed.
He insisted, “I feel great, actually.” They have also managed that well, in my opinion. However, my body feels fantastic. I feel mostly normal, and I can sense the difference between where I was at the end of last year and where I am today.
But Normal hasn’t translated into Wells’ offensive success. That needs to improve quickly, or Boone will need to consider giving Rice more credit for the dish.
