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Austin Wells already had plenty on his plate as a catcher before taking on a heavier role when Jose Trevino got injured last month.
But just around the time he began getting everyday starts behind the plate, he was tasked with another challenging responsibility: protecting Aaron Judge.
Two-plus weeks into his new job as the Yankees’ regular cleanup hitter, Wells has hit even better than he had been leading into the jump up the lineup.
But coming off a series in which the Blue Jays regularly took the bat out of Judge’s hands, it will be up to Wells (and Giancarlo Stanton behind him) to make sure it doesn’t happen more regularly by making teams pay for it.
“I think being behind arguably the best hitter of all time already, that puts you in a position to have big at-bats in big situations,” Wells said Tuesday before the Yankees-Angels series opener was postponed by storms in The Bronx. “For me, I welcome that and I look forward to the challenge every chance I get.”
During the Blue Jays series, Judge was intentionally walked four times and walked twice in traditional fashion.
After those free passes, Wells went 1-for-5 with a walk, with Judge not coming around to score any of the times he was intentionally walked.
“For me, if [Juan] Soto gets on, there’s a really good chance I’m hitting right after Soto,” Wells said, referencing Judge getting intentionally walked. “Especially with a lefty on the mound for me. Not really facing many in the beginning of the year and getting to face some now, it’s been a good challenge that I’ve been welcoming. Obviously, we all want Judgey to hit every time, but it’s our job as the rest of the lineup to pick that up if he doesn’t get the chance.”
While it remains to be seen whether teams will treat Judge like the Blue Jays did, Wells currently serves as the Yankees’ best threat to hit behind the AL MVP favorite.
After a quiet start to the season, Wells has been producing consistently now for a few months. Since April 24, he is batting .275 with an .833 OPS and eight home runs across 61 games (51 starts). Over his last 30 starts (since June 6), the left-handed hitter is batting .299 with a .923 OPS and seven home runs.
But he has taken that to another level since Trevino went down with a quad strain on July 12 in Baltimore. Entering Wednesday, Wells had started 15 of 17 games since then, batting .316 with a .949 OPS and three home runs.
That has coincided with the catcher’s move to the cleanup spot — to replace a scuffling Alex Verdugo — in the second game after the All-Star break, with Wells batting .347 with a .944 OPS while batting behind Judge.
Albeit a small sample size, that is the best production the Yankees have gotten this season out of any of the seven hitters they have used in the cleanup spot.
“I guess regardless of result, the at-bat quality has really been consistent,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We’re starting to really see a quality, middle-of-the-order at-bat. I think he’s done a good job against lefties, having quality at-bats. Even lately, when they — say they brought in their best lefty for that top of the order lane. He’s put good at-bats on them as well. So really excited about his offensive development and the length that adds to our lineup.”
“He’s hitting in that four-hole because that’s what it looks like.”
Trevino’s return is on the horizon, with Boone saying the veteran could begin a rehab assignment as early as Sunday to eventually replace Carlos Narvaez.
But the way Wells has been swinging the bat — and providing an important presence in the cleanup spot — it will be difficult to take at-bats away from him.
“The consistency with everything is huge, on the catching and hitting side of things,” Wells said. “Being in there and seeing the ball, it just makes it a lot easier to be confident going up to the plate and confident behind the plate. … It’s been a lot of fun.”
