This one New York Yankees player may be facing a do or die season, but it's not who you might think.
New York Yankees fans have spent enough time railing on shortstop Anthony Volpe over the last year.
We get it: you think he stinks and you want him gone.
But the fact of the matter is that Volpe played through a torn labrum in his shoulder for most of 2025, and prior to suffering the injury in May, he was actually performing pretty well both at the plate and in the field.
Given that Volpe is coming off of surgery, he definitely deserves a grace period whenever he returns in the early stages of 2026, and the Yankees will give him that, regardless of what the fans think.
But can the same be said for catcher Austin Wells?
For all of the talk about how terrible Volpe was last season, Wells wasn't much better, if at all.
The 26-year-old — who is suiting up for Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic — slashed just .219/.275/.436 over 448 plate appearances in 2025. Yes, he hit 21 home runs, but his rising strikeout rate (26.3 percent) coupled with his plummeting walk rate (6.7 percent) was definitely concerning.
Wells was chasing more pitches out of the zone last year, and he regressed considerably from his rookie campaign.
Plus, with the automatic ball-strike system now being implemented this spring, Wells' best feature behind the plate (framing strikes) is not quite as valuable as previous seasons.
New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells. Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.New York isn't going to give up on Wells just yet. He is a former first-round pick, after all, and he is only played two full big-league campaigns. But there is no getting around the fact that 2026 could represent a do-or-die year for the backstop.
Why? Because there is only so much longer that the Yankees can tolerate such a severe lack of production at the bottom of their order, and Wells was one of the biggest culprits in 2025.
Yes, it is tough to find good offense at the catcher position, which is why Wells' .712 OPS last season could be considered palatable. But what about his lifetime .468 OPS in the playoffs? Or his tendency to go through some of the most miserable stretches you will ever see?
Fangraphs is projecting Wells to slash .225/.296/.413 (via ZiPS) this coming season. That just isn't good enough. Especially not when Ben Rice can also serve as a backstop (although it wouldn't be ideal) and provide far superior offense.
While New York surely isn't eager to put Rice behind the plate full time, it's something the Yankees might ultimately consider in 2027 if Wells can't get it together in 2026.
What stops New York from bringing in another first baseman and replacing Wells with Rice behind the dish? Again, the Yanks probably don't want Rice being their starting catcher, but they may be left with no choice if Wells' bat continues to suffer.
Make no mistake: this a huge year for Wells, who has certainly shown flashes of being a good hitter. He just needs to develop consistency. If he can't do that, the Yankees may be forced to seek other options next winter.
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