Austin Wells took swings with Gerrit Cole in the bullpen Friday at Steinbrenner Field. Then he stood in front of reporters and delivered an assessment of his ace that sounded almost like he was talking about himself: full of promise, facing a crucial season, needing everything to come together.
The Yankees held their first full-squad workout Monday in Tampa with championship expectations and a roster that won 94 games last year before getting bounced by the Blue Jays in four ALDS games.
The Bronx narrative machine has spent the offseason churning through Anthony Volpe’s shoulder surgery and middling bat. But here’s the thing: Volpe has time. He’s 24, recovering from a torn labrum, and expected back by May.
Wells? He’s running out of runway.
The Clock Is Ticking Behind the Plate
The numbers from 2025 don’t lie. Wells slashed .219/.275/.436 with a .712 OPS across 448 plate appearances. He launched 21 home runs and drove in 71 runs, which sounds productive until you realize his walk rate cratered from 11.4% as a rookie to a paltry 6.7% last season. His chase rate climbed from 25.5% in 2024 to 30.6%, well above the league average of 28.4%. Manager Aaron Boone didn’t mince words Saturday when asked what he wants from his catcher: “Better control in the strike zone, better swing decisions.”
That’s manager-speak for: figure it out or lose your job.
What kept Wells valuable in 2025 was his glove. He ranked in the 96th percentile for pitch framing, saving the Yankees an estimated 12 runs simply by stealing strikes at the edges of the zone. That skill disappears the moment the first pitch is thrown this season. MLB’s Automated Ball-Strike System goes live in 2026. Presentation means nothing to a computer. Wells’ most valuable defensive attribute just became obsolete overnight.
Without elite framing, Wells is a catcher with 39th percentile pop time, average blocking skills, and a bat that finished below league average. His postseason track record is equally alarming. In 21 career playoff games, Wells owns a .468 OPS. He struggled mightily in the ALDS loss to Toronto, failing to produce at the plate when it mattered most.
ZiPS projects Wells to slash .225/.296/.413 this season. That might not be enough.
Ben Rice Is Watching
The pressure intensifies when you consider who’s waiting. Ben Rice exploded in 2025, posting a .255/.337/.499 line with 26 home runs and an .836 OPS across 530 plate appearances. He ranked in the 97th percentile for hard-hit rate and 92nd percentile for barrel rate. Rice made 26 starts at catcher last year in addition to his work at first base and designated hitter.
Boone has said Rice is viewed as the primary first baseman for 2026, but general manager Brian Cashman left the door open for flexibility. “He can catch as well,” Cashman noted this winter. “I have Wells as our catcher and him at first, but you never know how the winds of change blow here every winter.”
Translation: if Wells keeps chasing sliders in the dirt while Rice rakes, the calculus changes.
The Yankees re-signed Cody Bellinger to a five-year, $162.5 million deal this offseason. They’re bringing back essentially the same roster that fell short against Toronto. They open March 25 at San Francisco in Netflix’s exclusive Opening Night broadcast, with Aaron Judge returning to his Northern California roots. The organization believes internal improvement can push them over the top. But that means players like Wells need to actually improve.
Wells showed in his rookie year that the bat can play. He posted a .322 on-base percentage and above-average offensive production in 2024 before the bottom fell out. The raw power is real. His exit velocity and hard-hit metrics suggest upside remains. But scouting reports called him an offensive-first catcher with shaky defense coming through the minors. Somehow the reality has flipped: he’s now a defensive-first catcher whose primary defensive skill is about to vanish, attached to a bat that can’t get on base.
Volpe will get the benefit of the doubt because he was playing through a torn labrum. His defense cratered with 19 errors, tied for the most among American League shortstops, and his bat never got going after the injury in early May. The surgery was more severe than initially believed. He has excuses.
Wells doesn’t. His 2025 regression was a choice, plate appearance by plate appearance. The Yankees are betting he can transform his approach before the automated strike zone exposes his limitations. If he can’t recapture the discipline that made him a Rookie of the Year finalist, Ben Rice is right there. And Rice can hit.