Yankees Facing Decision With Austin Wells Set to Return From IL
The New York Yankees are about to get a piece of their starting lineup back.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Saturday that catcher Austin Wells will likely return from the injured list on Sunday.
Austin Wells will likely return to the Yankees lineup tomorrow, Aaron Boone said.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) June 20, 2026
Wells has been on the IL with cervical headaches since June 6. Luckily, Wells' MRI and concussion tests all came back negative.
In three rehab games, Wells went 2-for-12 at the plate. He did, however, smash two home runs in one game.
Prior to landing on the shelf, Wells was having a miserable season offensively. In 47 games, Wells was slashing .166/.278/.255 with a .533 OPS, four homers and seven RBI.
This type of offensive campaign is unusual for Wells, who slugged 21 homers, drove in 71 RBI and had a .711 OPS in 2025.
Yankees' catchers as a whole have been anemic with the bat this season. Backup catcher J.C. Escarra is batting .179 with a .231 on-base percentage this year.
That being said, Ali Sanchez has gone 4-for-14 (.286 average) since getting called up to replace Wells on June 6.
The Yankees will now have a decision to make whether to option Escarra or Sanchez back down to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
With superstar MVP right fielder Aaron Judge on the IL with a stress fracture in his rib, it would be wise for the Yankees to take all the offensive production they can get. For that, they should opt to keep Sanchez as the backup to Wells. Escarra does have minor league options remaining so he is definitely in danger of getting sent down.
The Yankees already sent down Escarra on June 5 to bring up Sanchez, but had to call him back up immediately due to Wells landing on the IL.
The good news is that the Yankees have been able to hold their own without Judge in the lineup. They're now 46-28 and have a three game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.
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This story was originally published June 20, 2026 at 12:32 PM.