Aaron Boone all but admits winner of Yankees' backup catcher competition

After trading Jose Trevino for splitter-centric strikeout reliever Fernando Cruz, the Yankees' ideal scenario was coming to camp with a backup catcher option who could both sting the ball harder than their previous No. 2 and bring some semblance of defensive ability to the table.

As it turns out, they might be breaking camp with two of those behind Austin Wells.

2024 first base fill-in Ben Rice was a catcher throughout the minors, and has been given a good deal of reps behind the dish all camp long, as recently as Monday afternoon against the Blue Jays. He's been stinging the baseball, using added muscle to power up to an .800+ OPS and countless hard-hit balls, reaching a higher echelon of effectiveness than he did last season (when, yes, his metrics were still pretty impressive).

Without Giancarlo Stanton, though, the Yankees are going to want a heftier Rice to fill in at DH during the season's first two months (if not the whole year). The less wear and tear on his knees, the better. Thank goodness, for flexibility and ceiling purposes, that JC Escarra is also hitting .389 with a 1.088 OPS mark.

Escarra can play first, too. He DH'd in Monday's contest in order to get a few additional reps. He's been the Yankees' unsung hero for several weeks now. And, when Aaron Boone was asked if having three different left-handed catchers would be a matchup issue (in theory), he answered it succinctly.

Aaron Boone makes it clear Yankees could carry JC Escarra, Ben Rice behind Austin Wells on Opening Day roster

Carry your best bats north, regardless of handedness. It's especially not an issue when they're all lefties, given that the porch in right is more attainable for this entire group.

Based on the power this trio has shown at camp, they might not be reliant on 314-foot homers, either; Wells has been scalding the baseball from the leadoff spot, while Rice and Escarra have been potent enough with the lumber to seem like viable DH answers, let alone Trevino replacements.

"We have three left-handed power threat catchers with plus defense. Is that ok?" is a champagne problem, if we've ever heard one. Thankfully, Boonie didn't employ any mental gymnastics to justify a change, and tended to agree. Hopefully, this full group heads north on Opening Day, ready to both frame and mash.