Wells is absent from the lineup for Tuesday's game in Cleveland.
It's a routine day off for Wells, who started each of the previous three contests. J.C. Escarra will do the catching and bat eighth for the Yankees.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Launches homer in win
Rotowire
Wells went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Sunday's 4-0 win over Tampa Rays.
Wells put the finishing touches on Sunday's victory, taking Garrett Cleavinger deep in the top of the ninth inning for New York's final run of the game. The catcher is now batting .197 with four home runs, 10 RBI and seven runs scored over 61 at-bats in 19 games this season. After homering in each of the first two games of the season, Wells has now hit a more modest two more home runs since that hot start.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Back in action Saturday
Rotowire
Wells (illness) will start at catcher and bat third Saturday against the Rays.
Wells missed Friday's contest due to a bout of food poisoning, but he's now feeling better and will return behind the plate to form a battery with Carlos Carrasco on Saturday. The 25-year-old backstop has gone 2-for-16 with a homer and two RBI across his last five games.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Battling food poisoning
Rotowire
Wells is not in the lineup for Friday's game versus the Rays due to food poisoning, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
Wells received a routine day off Thursday and will miss a second straight game after he woke up ill overnight. Consider him day-to-day. J.C. Escarra will do the catching and bat sixth for the Yankees on Friday.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Riding pine Thursday
Rotowire
Wells is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays.
The Yankees will give Wells a chance to regroup after the 25-year-old managed just one hit -- a solo home run -- in 11 at-bats during New York's previous series against Kansas City. J.C. Escarra will fill in behind the plate Thursday and bat seventh.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Getting Wednesday off
Rotowire
Wells is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Tigers.
Wells will take a seat for just the second time in 12 games this season as the Yankees wrap up their series in Detroit with a matinee contest. J.C. Escarra will receive the start behind the plate, catching for starting pitcher Max Fried.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Taking seat Thursday
Rotowire
Wells is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Diamondbacks.
Wells receives a well-earned breather after starting each of the Yankees' first five games at catcher. J.C. Escarra will be behind the plate, batting eighth Thursday.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Batting sixth again Tuesday
Rotowire
Wells will start at catcher and bat sixth in Tuesday's contest against the Diamondbacks.
After hitting leadoff on Opening Day, Wells has now batted sixth in three straight games, including in two straight against right-handed pitching. Paul Goldschmidt is again serving as the Yankees' leadoff hitter. The development dings Wells' fantasy outlook a bit, as he had appeared in line to be the team's regular leadoff hitter versus righties.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Goes deep again Saturday
Rotowire
Wells went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Saturday's 20-9 romp over the Brewers.
With a left-hander starting on the mound for Milwaukee, Wells batted sixth in the lineup rather than occupying the leadoff spot as he did on Opening Day. However, that didn't affect his performance at the plate, as the third-year catcher went deep in the first inning for one of four Yankees long balls in the frame and one of a franchise-record nine hit by the team overall in the win. After an eye-opening six-homer performance during Grapefruit League play, Wells has continued to impress at the start of the regular season, going deep in each of his first two contests.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Confirmed as leadoff hitter
Rotowire
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said on the Talkin' Yanks podcast by Jomboy Media on Tuesday that Wells will be the team's leadoff hitter Opening Day versus Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta.
The revelation comes as no surprise, as Wells has batted at the top of the order consistently over the last few weeks in Grapefruit League play. Wells is likely to hit lower in the order or get days off against lefties, although No. 2 catcher J.C. Escarra and No. 3 catcher Ben Rice also bat left-handed.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Continues big spring
Rotowire
Wells went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs and four total RBI against Detroit in a Grapefruit League victory Friday.
Wells accounted for all of the runs in the contest, leading off the game with a solo shot to right field and adding a three-run blast to left-center in the seventh. The backstop has put together a superb spring, slashing .366/.409/.780 with five homers, 10 RBI and 10 runs over 44 plate appearances. Wells has frequently batted leadoff during the exhibition slate, and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com says that Wells "looks like a lock" to hit out of the No. 1 spot versus righties once the regular season begins.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Swats third spring long ball
Rotowire
Wells went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Monday's Grapefruit League win over the Tigers.
Wells batted leadoff in the contest, which he's been doing often this spring and may end up doing during the regular season. The 25-year-old catcher has been blistering the ball in that role in Grapefruit League action, leading off the Yankees' half of the first inning with a home run on three occasions. Wells is slashing .368/.400/.895 overall this spring and could be primed for a breakout after posting a .717 OPS over 414 regular-season plate appearances in his first full campaign in the majors last year.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Could lead off this season
Rotowire
Wells is a candidate to bat leadoff for the Yankees during the 2025 campaign, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
Wells and Jazz Chisholm have been getting most of the reps in the leadoff spot this spring, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone has indicated that both players are being considered for the role come the regular season. While Wells' lack of speed and .229 batting average to this point in his big-league career aren't typical of a leadoff hitter, he has shown an acumen for getting on base, frequently recording double-digit walk rates in the minors and posting an 11.4 percent walk rate over 414 plate appearances with the big club last year. Hoch notes that the Yankees have never had a catcher bat leadoff in a regular-season game over the long history of the franchise.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: No games until March 1
Rotowire
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday that Wells won't make his Grapefruit League debut until March 1 due to the catcher's heavy workload last season, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
Wells played 129 games last season between the regular season and playoffs, so it makes sense for the Yankees to slow play the 25-year-old's entry into the spring lineup. The catcher has been taking live at-bats but has not yet swung the bat early on in camp. Given the uncertainty the Yankees have behind him on the catcher depth chart, Wells could see an even heavier workload in 2025.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Hits key Game 4 home run
Rotowire
Wells went 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk in Tuesday's 11-4 win over Los Angeles in Game 4 of the World Series.
Wells hit his second-deck solo shot with the Yankees up 5-4 in the sixth inning. The Yankees tacked on five more runs and cruised to victory. Los Angeles now leads the series 3-1 and will have a chance to close things out in Game 5 on Wednesday.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Not starting Friday's game
Rotowire
Wells is not in the lineup for Friday's contest against the Pirates.
Wells is getting a breather after starting each of the previous four games. Jose Trevino is catching and batting eighth for the Yankees in the series opener.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Not starting versus southpaw
Rotowire
Wells isn't in the Yankees' lineup for Saturday's game against the Athletics.
Wells went 0-for-5 with a strikeout during Friday's series opener and will now take a seat against the left-handed JP Sears. Jose Trevino will fill in as New York's catcher and bat ninth.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Getting breather Wednesday
Rotowire
Wells is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Royals.
Wells had made five straight starts, but he'll begin Wednesday's series finale on the bench. Jose Trevino will handle catching duties and bat ninth for New York.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Plates two runs in return
Rotowire
Wells went 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBI in Friday's 3-0 win against the Cubs.
Wells returned from a two-game absence after taking a hit-by-pitch on the hand Monday. The backstop accounted for the bulk of New York's scoring Friday with a two-run single in the third inning. Now that he's back in action, Wells will likely start behind the plate most of the time when the Yankees face right-handed starters while Jose Trevino is expected to get the call against most southpaws.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Held out Wednesday
Rotowire
Wells (hand) remains out of the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Rangers.
Wells has now missed two starts in a row after being hit on the right hand by a pitch Monday. X-rays came back negative and he is likely aiming for a return Friday versus the Cubs following a team off day Thursday. Jose Trevino will do the catching again for the Yankees in Wednesday's series finale.
