Yankees searching for Austin Wells answers as catcher's slump persists
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Saturday was a day game after a night game. It was expected. Monday was different — Monday marked the second time in three games Austin Wells was on the bench.
Rare for the team's starting catcher.
'He's been struggling a bit, obviously, offensively. A part of it is I want to keep Ben [Rice] in there and I think Ben has done a really good job behind the plate, too,' manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees beat the Twins 6-2 to open a three-game series in The Bronx. 'There's that. That also allows [Paul] Goldschmidt to be in the lineup. It's just trying to get the best grouping out there day in and day out to give us chance to win a game.'
Could it be a trend? Could Wells see less playing time moving forward? Boone wasn't ready to go there. Wells, he insisted, is too important to the Yankees' success. He's too valuable.
The manager still believes in him, but he felt it was worth giving him a breather to get both Rice and Goldschmidt in the lineup.
It was understandable, considering Wells' lack of production of late. He is in the midst of a 5-for-47 drought. He has just one homer and three extra-base hits since July 8.
His OPS has fallen to a meager .679, and his batting average sits at an anemic .208.
Yankees catcher Austin Wells (28) reacts after he strikes out in the fifth inning against the Houston Astros.
Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
'There's been a lot of production in there, too: 15 homers, [56] RBIs. He's had some big hits for us, he's had some good stretches for us,' Boone said. 'But it feels like over the last month, it's been a grind for him. Kind of working on different things, all to try to get that feeling. Because I do feel like he is such a capable and good hitter, we got to get him there where he is a key figure for us. Because he really lengthens our lineup when he's right, with the at-bats he gives and the power he has at the bottom of the order.'
Wells believes he's close, that he's just missing his pitch. He likes how he has approached his at-bats more of late, even if the production isn't there.
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'I'm just off the barrel on a lot of breaking balls. So I'm trying to put my body in position to hit those as well as fastballs,' the 26-year-old catcher said. 'I think I know I'm getting a lot of off-speed [pitches], too, and I'm seeing it well, it's just a matter of getting my body in the right position to hit a little harder and not at people. I like the process. I can recognize the pitch and I know I'm going to get it. It's just making sure it's in the right spot that I want it to be.
Yankees catcher Austin Wells (28) out in a rundown against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Robert Sabo for NY Post
'It can be frustrating, especially when you don't get results. Working on it for a couple of weeks, and I know it's just going to continue to happen until I make an adjustment. But making the adjustment but not getting the results, it's frustrating.'
One adjustment Wells is trying to make is to trust his hands more, and not be out in front as much. So far, it hasn't translated into results.
'The most important thing for me is to make sure he gets his confidence and feels good about himself,' hitting coach James Rowson said. 'This guy can hit, and I believe in him and everybody on this team believes in him. But he wants to perform. He wants to go out there and he wants to get some hits and he wants some things to happen.'
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