The New York Yankees placed all their eggs in Austin Wells’ basket and are paying for it dearly. The 2024 Rookie of the Year finalist has fallen flat in 2025, and it’s unclear why. Is it a lingering issue with his finger? A problem with swing mechanics? An overall malaise because of how bad this team is?

We don’t know, but it’s even crazier that the organization has managed to part with all of Carlos Narvaez, Agustin Ramirez, Ben Rortvedt, Jose Trevino, Rafael Flores, Jesus Rodriguez and Edgleen Perez over the last year and change, and everyone (with the exception of the latter three) has had equally (or better) offensive stretches than Wells over that span. On top of that, it’s caused a bit of a depth issue for New York.

After they recalled JC Escarra to the active roster, they needed help at Triple-A, so they re-signed Rob Brantly, who spent 2021-2022 with the Bombers, mostly at Scranton. He logged six MLB games over those two seasons before being let go after 2022.

Brantly will presumably log a good amount of reps at Triple-A after the Flores trade and Escarra promotion. The main factor, though, was Edinson Duran being placed on the Development List. The 22-year-old logged just six games with the RailRiders this year. Oh, yeah, and he recorded a save last month?

Yankees News: Rob Brantly signed to minor league contract and reporting to Triple-A

It’s all just funny because, well, the Yankees still don’t have an answer at catcher. Wells is worse than Anthony Volpe, but fans seem to ignore that troubling wrinkle. He’s hitting .208/.267/.412 with an 85 OPS+ in 93 games this year.

Ben Rice has been taking reps behind the plate, but it’s unclear if that’s his long-term position. Escarra, an incredible preseason story, has proven to be nothing more than bench fodder – at least in the Yankees’ eyes, given the way he’s been utilized.

Beyond that? There’s nobody. We’d venture to say the Yankees had mixed results in managing their organizational catching depth, but at the same time we can’t say they’ve done a good job. They get a C- minus at best. It was a combination of getting rid of undesirable options and finding ways to better other areas of the roster with their more talented names.

Overall, though, there’s some level of regret/frustration with Trevino and Rortvedt, both of whom succeeded tremendously in short spurts with the Reds and Rays. Ramirez may not pan out as a full-time catcher and nobody will complain about trading him for Jazz Chisholm, but the fact he has better offensive numbers than Wells isn’t comforting. Narvaez had an All-Star-caliber first half with the Red Sox. And we’ll have to wait and see how the others pan out after the move at this year’s trade deadline.

All in all? Thinking all the way back to Gary Sánchez, the Yankees have had a significant problem finding a worthwhile, everyday catcher for what feels like over a decade now.