What Should The Yankees Do With A Slumping Austin Wells?

It’s no secret, Austin Wells is in an offensive slump. It’s baseball, slumps happen but now is definitely not the best time to have one. So what do the Yankees DO about? The series shifts to Cleveland, and the Guardians NEED a win today. So do the Yankees ride with Austin behind the plate or make a move?

The Yankees definitely need a shake up in the lineup. Aaron Boone has already suggested he could move Giancarlo Stanton up in the lineup against lefty Matt Boyd and give him cleanup duties…. but is that the ONLY change he would make? Maybe not, because he’s also hinted at giving Jose Trevino some playing time, read more HERE. Maybe this is where Bonne makes the switch, but should he?

Gotta love playoff baseball, where anything can happen, and anything should be considered. Any move made, could help determine when you play for championship or not. If I am Boone, my move would be cleaning up the cleanup spot. Wells needs to move down in the order but I’m sticking with Wells behind the plate. He hasn’t made an impact with the bat, but he sure has with his glove.

Just because the Yankees are up 2-0 in this series, these games are too important to consider playing lineup roulette and rotating impactful pieces in and out. Nothing against Trevino, but even without any offense from Wells, he still gives the Yankees the best shot at winning. He may be ice cold with the bat, but he’s hot with the glove. He was important to the Yankees win on Tuesday night.

The Yankees batting lineup can be reworked and still be effective. I still prefer Wells’ bat over Trevino’s. If you move Wells down in the lineup it takes some pressure off him so it may help him start hitting more. Trevino isn’t an upgrade over Wells, and he hasn’t played since September 29th, he’s cold. Behind the plate, Wells has the better arm, and I have more confidence that he will keep the Guardians honest. He’s better defensively and he’s got the better arm. He has a better shot of throwing a runner out then Trevino. The Guardians could really test Trevino’s arm and that’s not something I want to be brave and experiment with when the Guardians have their backs against the wall. I’m riding with Wells. He’s the better catcher. We saw him start to show hints of him coming out of his slump the other night. He hit one pretty hard…. but right at a Guardian. Take off some of the pressure in the batter’s box and I still think he gives the Yankees the better chance to win, especially on the road.

Boone just needs to reimagine his batting order…. but not who’s catching behind the plate. Don’t overcomplicate and try to get fancy. You go with your best catcher, and there is no doubt that is Wells.

–Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa