Red Sox roster crunch might've gifted Yankees perfect backup catcher option

The New York Yankees' options to solidify the catcher position at this point in time are going to be scarce. You can pretty much forget about finding anyone to supplant Austin Wells as the starter, but maybe an improvement over Ali Sánchez as the right-handed-hitting backup can be found. Thanks to the Boston Red Sox, an ideal option for that role might be on the table.

The Red Sox activated Adley Rutschman from the IL on Tuesday, which created a logjam at catcher. Not wanting to carry three backstops, Boston decided to cut ties with Jake Rogers, who had accompanied Rutschman on the trip north from Baltimore.

This is just a side benefit of how the deal that sent Rutschman from the Orioles to the Red Sox could end up being a boon for the Yankees in the long term.

Rogers might not appear to be anything great. In the past couple of weeks, he's migrated from the Detroit Tigers to Baltimore, and then to Boston, and will now be looking to latch on with his fourth team since late July. But the long-time Tiger is well-respected around the game both as a teammate and for his presence behind the plate.

ankees would be wise to pick up Jake Rogers for the stability he could bring behind the plate

In some ways, Ali Sanchez hasn't been that bad. His overall line is .268/.300/.357, which is good for an 85 wRC+ (pretty decent for a backup catcher). He's hit .333/.353/.485 against lefties, which is the most important thing that he can do to protect Wells.

However, he's also made some serious gaffes in the field, and the small sample size nature of his performance with the bat proves that the journeyman could fall off a cliff at any time.

That brings us to Rogers. The 31-year-old is a veteran who knows what to do out there, was beloved by Tarik Skubal and the rest of his former teammates in Detroit, and is known for his game-calling skills. Those things don't show up in a box score, but they are important, especially for a backup.

Rogers has hit just .183/.290/.327 this season, but he has performed well against southpaws with a .273/.346/.455 line. He's had some offensive success in the past, particularly in the power department, highlighted by hitting 21 homers in just 107 games back in 2023.

In that regard, he's similar to recent Yankees signing Mitch Garver, but he's significantly better defensively than the former Seattle Mariner.

It should also be noted that New York is seeing positive signs from Wells of late, with the much-maligned catcher going on a tear since July 9, hitting .273/.375/.545 over that span of 64 plate appearances.

Pairing him with a solid veteran like Rogers, who can hit lefties and provide some pop, is the ideal situation at this point in time. There are other catcher-needy teams around the league, so the Yankees would be wise to strike quickly and take advantage of the gift the Red Sox's roster crunch just gave them.

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