Joel Sherman’s list of Yankees catching options proves Austin Wells will keep his job

It's kind of amazing that, given how bad Austin Wells was offensively during the first half of the season, he was able to turn it around and make his second half respectable. The New York Yankees' backstop hit .229/.351/.436 over the second half, which, when grading on the catcher curve, means that his resulting .787 OPS was actually really good.

And while it was overshadowed by his baserunning gaffe, as well as the humiliating fashion in which the Yankees lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, it should be noted that Wells was also very good in the playoffs, batting .333 with four RBI.

Still, Ryan Jeffers, long assumed to be New York's top catcher target before he was pulled off the market at the trade deadline, is a free agent. Brian Cashman is surely salivating, right? Not so fast, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

"I think there's a very, very good chance the Twins put the qualifying offer on Jeffers, which is $23.15 million. If they do, there's draft pick compensation if he decides to turn down the qualifying offer and leave. And I just don't see the Yankees investing that kind of money and draft pick compensation for it. So, I think they have to think about probably a much better co-pilot than they had this year for Austin Wells," Sherman said.

He also indicated that said player should be reasonably capable of stepping in and taking the larger role if Wells falters again, noting that said player should be able to start at least half the games if need be.

There are quite a few names on Sherman's list of who New York could target. While they're all varying levels of quality, Sherman picked out Carson Kelly, Luis Campusano, Freddy Fermin, Austin Hedges, and Victor Carantini as potential options that could catch Brian Cashman's eye.

If the Yankees don't spend big at catcher, they must do so elsewhere in order to avoid repeating recent failures

If we're being honest, then we're admitting that there was more bad than good from Wells in 2026. Despite the relatively hot second half, he still finished the season with a .186/.292/.332 line. That speaks to the unfathomable depths he reached during the first half.

A staunch defender might point to the cervical headaches that sidelined the former top prospect in early June, and while that might have played a role, it doesn't explain away everything. Wells' offense wasn't nearly as bad in 2025, but it still left something to be desired with a 93 wRC+. While he was worth at least 3.0 fWAR in each of 2024 and 2025, a lot of that was related to his defensive prowess, where his pitch framing is his standout skill.

While framing hasn't been completely eliminated by the ABS challenge system yet, it's been minimized to a degree.

The caliber of catchers Sherman is talking about is basically all guys who are on par with Wells or below him. That could be a recipe for disaster.

There's reason to be wary of Jeffers. He's coming off a career year in which he posted a 128 wRC+ and also missed time with a fractured hamate bone. Prior to 2026, he posted a career wRC+ of 108. That's still a good mark, but he seems like a regression candidate who will likely be overpaid thanks to his stellar season this year. Giving up draft pick compensation just to overpay for a good-not-great player isn't wise.

But neither is signing backup-only caliber catchers, which is what most of Sherman's list is. The market isn't exactly flush, so we'll give him that, but there's a solid Jeffers alternative in Tyler Stephenson.

Entering 2026, Stephenson posted a career 107 wRC+, nearly identical to Jeffers' mark. That also includes an 85 wRC+ in 2023, when he was coming off shoulder surgery, which clearly impacted him. Stephenson is likely looking at a two-or-three year deal that pays him $25-to-$30 million in total, so he's not a qualifying offer candidate, but could easily match Jeffers' production over the next few seasons.

If the Yankees are insistent at going the cheap route at catcher and thumbing their nose at both Jeffers and Stephenson, things could still work. However, that would mean that New York would need to go nuclear and upgrade both second and third base, add a few high-end bullpen arms, and improve the team's depth, at minimum. Failure to do so will only result in more embarrassment.

The Yankees might be able to bank on Austin Wells plus a veteran caddy, but only if they are willing to make multiple splashes elsewhere on the roster. There's logic in not overpaying Jeffers while also surrendering a draft pick, but only if you can build a winner in a different way. The only sure thing is that more of the failures we experienced in 2026 can no longer be tolerated.

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