Yankees’ Austin Wells smokes two homers on rehab assignment to fire up fans

It was an odd injury that landed New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells on the IL. But he recently took a big step toward getting back. And it got even better as he smoked two homers on his rehab assignment, firing up the fans, according to a post on X by Talkin’ Yanks.

“Austin Wells has two homers today while rehabbing with Scranton!”

The 24-year-old Wells started to find his way in 2025. He slugged 21 homers and drove in 71 runs despite a still-rugged batting average of just .219.

This year, he had just four homers and seven RBIs in 47 games. And his batting average dipped to a horrendous .166.

What will C Austin Wells give the Yankees when he returns?

Clearly, Wells needs to turn things around. One positive sign was a solid increase in his walk rate. He has totaled 23 free passes in 169 plate appearances after managing only 30 in 448 last year.

However, Wells has been reliable as a pitch-caller. His overall defensive abilities and staff handling have been missed during his absence.

One thing that makes things dicey for Wells is that the Yankees might be in the trade market for a catcher. They have been rumored to have interest in Adley Rutschman of the Orioles and Hunter Goodman of the Rockies.

However, it won’t be easy to get either, according to The Athletic.

“It’s going to be really difficult to pry Goodman away from the Rockies, considering he’s by far their best player,” Jim Bowden wrote. “But he would be a great fit, as would Adley Rutschman of the Orioles. Both would be game changers.

“However, I think more realistic options include Ryan Jeffers of the Twins (once he gets healthy), Agustín Ramírez of the Marlins, Joey Bart of the Pirates, Carson Kelly of the Cubs, Gabriel Moreno of the Diamondbacks, and Keibert Ruiz of the Nationals.”

Because the Yankees easily look like the American League’s best team, they need to get the production problem settled at the catcher position.

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