NEW YORK -- For the second time in less than 24 hours, the Yankees made an unexpected move with their catching group Saturday night when Austin Wells was placed on the injured list with cervical headaches before the team took the field against the Boston Red Sox.
J.C. Escarra was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to replace Wells on the roster. The Yankees had optioned Escarra late Friday, choosing to swap him out for Ali Sánchez.
Wells reported neck stiffness leading to a headache to the club late Friday after the Yankees optioned Escarra and underwent exams. The concern was enough for manager Aaron Boone to call Escarra to stay in New York on Saturday in case he was needed. Wells then went through a series of exams, including a concussion test, with a neurologist Saturday and checked out negative. Boone said Wells will undergo further testing for his neck Sunday.
"This complaint is new," Boone said. "So, whether it's a cumulative thing or something that happened last night, it's tough to say."
Boone did not indicate Wells was dealing with the issue speaking to reporters Saturday afternoon before the club's scheduled game against the Red Sox. He said he planned to give Wells, a left-handed batter, days off against left-handed pitchers "in the short-term" with Sánchez, a right-handed hitter, in the fold.
A few hours later, Wells was on the injured list, joining Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Jasson Dominguez. Boone said Wells' stint will "hopefully" be short, but the team will have a better idea after Sunday's testing.
"It's tough to play the game with one catcher," Boone said. "That's a tough place to be. And just with the neck and head, it's not something you want to mess around with. So we feel like we had to make the move here."
Sánchez was slated to start Saturday against Red Sox left-hander Ranger Suarez and become the team's first right-handed hitter to start at catcher since the 2024 World Series. But the game was postponed due to weather and will be made up as a doubleheader on Aug. 29. He'll likely start Sunday with Suárez again scheduled to take the mound for Boston.
"Hopefully Ali can come up here and provide a little bit of a spark and a different look too," Boone said.
Wells, 26, has been one of the least productive hitters in the majors this season. Entering Saturday, his .533 OPS ranked 212th out of 217 players with at least 160 plate appearances. Wells or Escarra has started the Yankees' first 64 games this season, combining to give the Yankees a .527 OPS from the catching position. Only the Philadelphia Phillies have a lower output from their catchers.
Boone did not close the door on Ben Rice, the Yankees' best hitter this season, getting starts at catcher this season before adding "it's not on the board right now." The 27-year-old Rice was drafted and developed as a catcher, but has primarily split his time between first base -- a position he had never played -- and designated hitter since breaking into the majors in 2024. He started 26 games behind the plate last season. He has yet to log an inning at catcher in 2026.
With Aaron Judge out for an extended period, having Rice catch would give the Yankees the flexibility to keep both Paul Goldschmidt and Giancarlo Stanton in the lineup when Stanton returns from injury. Stanton has been on the injured list since late April with a calf strain. He hit again on the field at Yankee Stadium on Saturday and is entering his second week of running. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman on Friday said Stanton could return in two to three weeks.
Last season, after logging innings late in blowouts, Rice was given his first major-league start at catcher on June 18. Boone said that would be more difficult to pull off this season because of Rice's importance to the offense, recently amplified by Judge landing on the injured list with a stress fracture in his ribs.
Boone said there's a "concern" that catching regularly could tire Rice and affect his offensive production, but he believes Rice could remain in the lineup every day if he occasionally added catching to his responsibilities.
"Do we want to do that with what he means to, obviously, the middle of our lineup?" Boone said. "So we'll continue to evaluate that and ultimately decide if the risk is worth that, or if we think it's worth it."
Rice batted .221 with six home runs and an .879 OPS in 114 plate appearances as a catcher last season. He hit .263 with 20 home runs and an .825 OPS in his other 416 plate appearances. This year, Rice has emerged as an early American League MVP candidate. He entered Saturday second in the majors in OPS while batting .305 with 18 home runs.
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