Yankees Continue to Ignore the Austin Wells Elephant in the Room

Last year, New York Yankees fans decided to make Anthony Volpe their whipping boy, and it was somewhat understandable.

After all, Volpe posted a .663 OPS and uncharacteristically labored in the field, but it seemed pretty clear that his defensive struggles were a direct result of a torn labrum in his shoulder that he battled through most of the year.

So when Volpe returned to action this season, many Yankees fans were in dismay.

But the young shortstop has actually performed fairly well, owning a .363 OBP and a respectable .727 OPS through 124 plate appearances. And while his defense hasn't been perfect, his glove looks far better than it did a year ago.

Then, there's Austin Wells.

Wells was let off the hook last year in spite of registering a .275 OBP and once again being a playoff no-show (he owns as lifetime .468 OPS in the postseason, by the way). Fans praised his defense and pitch framing, ignoring the fact that the catcher was actually regressing offensively.

This year, things have been far worse, as Wells is batting .164 with a .519 OPS over 183 trips to the dish. He also has just nine RBI, and it's almost July.

Spare me the "RBI are a direct result of opportunity" nonsense. That argument goes out the window when you're hitting .108 with runners in scoring position and have put up a doughnut (zero hits in 19 plate appearances) with runners in scoring position and two outs.

But for some reason, many Yankees fans and pundits continue to maintain their belief in Wells, this even though he is legitimately one of the worst hitters in baseball.

Wells' OPS+ is 46. His wRC+ is 48. His strikeout rate is up to a career-high 27.3 percent. His barrel rate is at 6.4 percent. But he's good at pitch framing, so we should leave him untouched, right?

You would think Wells were prime Pudge Rodriguez behind the plate with the way some talk about him defensively, and Pudge was also an elite hitter.

Recently, there have even been some advocating for New York to pursue a trade for Tarik Skubal over a catcher, because Skubal would represent a larger upgrade over guys like Carlos Rodon and Will Warren than a backstop like Ryan Jeffers would over Wells.

Sorry, but that is ridiculous.

The Yankees do not need Skubal. They don't need to surrender a treasure trove of assets for a starting pitcher who is probably going to walk in free agency when New York's rotation is already probably the best in baseball.

But you know what the Yanks do need? Someone who isn't going to post an OPS in the .500s while also being an everyday player.

To be quite frank, the Yankees don't even necessarily have to make a trade for a catcher to make that happen. They can simply put Ben Rice behind the plate, place Paul Goldschmidt at first base full time and then insert Giancarlo Stanton back into the designated hitter role once he returns.

Something needs to be done. The Bronx Bombers cannot continue to live with such an inept hitter in their lineup, and why a surprisingly large faction of fans and media members continue letting Wells slide is beyond me.

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