Yankees backup catcher option pummeling Dodgers should change trade deadline plans

One way or another, the New York Yankees will have to do something about the catcher position by the trade deadline. Despite having three potential options behind the plate, there is nary a right-handed bat between the trio. That in and of itself is a problem, but the issues lie deeper. Fortunately, a cheap potential solution might have just emerged in the form of San Francisco Giants backstop Eric Haase.

Haase vaulted himself into the conversation for any and all teams looking to shore up their situations behind the plate when, on May 12, he took Los Angeles Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto deep, not once, but twice.

We're at this point because we're past looking for silver linings with Austin Wells. Through 33 games, the once-promising backstop is slashing just .180/.308/.280 with three homers. His biggest defensive strength, pitch framing, has somewhat been neutralized by ABS. Three years into his career, it's time for difficult conversations

The problem is, it's not as simple as pulling the plug and going to backup J.C. Escarra as the primary catcher. Despite Aaron Boone's effusive praise for the former Uber driver and substitute teacher during spring training, Escarra is hitting .195/.250/.317 through 14 games. For his career, he owns a .200/.282/.328 line. He's fine for a backup who plays once a week, but he can't supplant Wells, and both of them hitting left-handed further limits Escarra's usefulness.

Therefore, targeting Haase makes a lot of sense. The 33-year-old isn't a star, or even necessarily starting caliber, but trading for him might allow the Yankees to create a situation where the catcher spot is no longer a black hole.

Yankees trade target Eric Haase could be part of a multi-faceted solution to the catcher woes

We're not trying to oversell Haase here. He's played in exactly 30 games each of the past two seasons and posted strikeout rates just north of 40% in each year. When he did get more run, like the stretch he saw where he played at least 89 games a year between 2021 and 2023, he had his moments, like a 22-homer campaign with a 100 wRC+ in 2021 and a 14-homer and 111 wRC+ performance in 2022. But he also put up a stinker with a 42 wRC+ and a four-homer season in 2023.

His biggest strength offensively is that, as a right-handed bat, he mashes lefties. Against southpaws, he owns a .237/.278/.444 career line. That's been a particularly weak part of Wells' game this year, as he's hit just .128/.205/.205 against same-handed pitching thus far in 2026.

Aaron Boone has been unwilling to utilize Ben Rice behind the plate thus far. Rice can, in fact, hit lefties, but now that he's emerged as New York's best hitter not named Judge, it does make some sense to be careful with the physical demands placed on him. At the same time, what about getting his bat in there just once a week?

With Paul Goldschmidt surging, finding a way for the two to coexist in the lineup at times should be a priority, and will become more difficult once Giancarlo Stanton returns from the IL. Even so, having Rice catch once a week does little to stabilize the position on its own.

Haase shouldn't be expensive to acquire. In fact, the Yankees missed the boat when San Francisco signed him to a minor league deal back on April 1. The Giants have gotten off to a disappointing start, and rumblings are that they're motivated to sell.

They already shipped defensive-minded catcher Patrick Bailey out of town to clear the way for former Yankee farmhand Jesus Rodriguez, who was part of the fleecing of New York in the Camilo Doval trade last year. The thought is now that they want to move on from some of their more bloated contracts, like Rafael Devers and Willy Adames.

Haase doesn't fit that bill, but as a backup, they're paying him $1.37 million. J.C. Escarra makes a little over half of that, and maybe swapping backups is all it would take.

The Yankees could then build a system. Rice can catch once a week in a preferred matchup. Haase could catch whenever there is a lefty on the mound and in typical day game after a night game scenarios, giving him two or three starts per week. Wells can catch the rest of the time.

In doing this, Wells would only face right-handers, against whom he has posted a more respectable .696 OPS this season. Paul Goldschmidt gets a few more at-bats, strengthening the offense overall. And Haase comes in to torment lefties. Balancing things this way would ensure that the Yankees are always getting average or better production offensively from the catcher spot, and would only require a small trade, leaving assets to fill more pressing holes, such as the bullpen.

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