Why Ryan Jeffers could help Yankees minimize the risks of a midseason catcher trade

NEW YORK — There wasn’t much time to waste after the New York Yankees promoted Ali Sánchez on June 5 and told him he would be starting against the Boston Red Sox the next day.

The first thing the Yankees did when Sánchez arrived from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre was to give him a crash course on the entire pitching staff. The team’s three pitching coaches and director of catching Tanner Swanson went through each pitcher’s arsenal and when each pitch is used.

Sánchez had spent spring training with the Yankees, but it had been nearly three months since he was with the pitching staff daily.

“Part of our job is to do homework, watch videos, talk with pitchers and create that relationship,” Sánchez said. “For me, it started in spring training. I know I was in Triple A, but I started having an idea then of what our guys are trying to do. It’s helped me a lot.”

It’s been an ongoing whirlwind process for Sánchez over the past two weeks, and that’s despite his experience as a catcher in the Yankees organization. Now imagine making that transition in midseason from another club.

But given their needs, it’s possible the Yankees will bring in an external catcher before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. According to multiple team sources who were granted anonymity so they could speak candidly, the Yankees are interested in adding a right-handed-hitting catcher before the deadline. They had high hopes for starting catcher Austin Wells entering this season, but he has been one of MLB’s most disappointing players.

Entering Wednesday, which ended with a 10-5 win over the Chicago White Sox, Yankees catchers had a 53 WRC+, third worst in MLB; only the Philadelphia Phillies and White Sox had received worse production behind the plate. Among catchers with at least 160 plate appearances this season, Wells’ 53 wRC+ was the second worst; just Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez had a lower mark.

Wells, a left-handed hitter, is on a rehab assignment as he recovers from cervical headaches, and it’s unclear when he’ll return to the majors. Backup catcher J.C. Escarra, another left-handed hitter, whom manager Aaron Boone has lauded as a top-15 catcher if given a bigger opportunity, has not taken advantage of his at-bats, posting a 48 wRC+. Sánchez has a 96 wRC+ in limited plate appearances, but his success has been fueled by a high BABIP (batting average on balls in play).

With Wells and Escarra struggling offensively, the need for a platoon bat, at a minimum, has become obvious. The Yankees do not want Ben Rice to catch because he’s become too important for the team’s overall offense, and his getting worn down behind the plate is risky.

Among the options the Yankees could consider ahead of the deadline is Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers. He has been on the injured list since May 19 with a broken left hamate bone and was expected to miss six to eight weeks. If Jeffers, 29, recovers before the deadline, it would make sense for the rebuilding Twins to trade the impending free agent. Before getting injured, Jeffers posted a 163 wRC+, and he’s been an above-average hitter each season since 2022.

The Yankees’ interest in Jeffers would be logical. Additionally, Swanson, the Twins’ catching coordinator from 2017 to 2019, played a major role in Minnesota’s decision to take Jeffers out of UNC Wilmington in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft. Some were skeptical of the Twins selecting Jeffers that early, but the club believed in his bat-first profile. Much like Wells, Jeffers has dramatically improved his defensive outlook while in the big leagues.

The pre-existing relationship between Jeffers and Swanson could ease the challenges of adding an external catcher in the middle of the season. So much behind-the-scenes work is required of the position.

“Adding a catcher midseason is certainly not easy, whether you’re talking about somebody internally or potentially somebody externally,” Swanson said. “Getting up to speed with not only what our pitchers’ strengths are and how they tend to attack hitters is honestly probably the easy part. I think the more challenging part is learning the common language that maybe an organization uses when they talk about pitching plans or how to attack hitters.”

The familiarity between Jeffers and Swanson could speed up the onboarding process, especially with what the Yankees ask of their catchers from a game-planning process. If the team traded for Jeffers or any other catcher, he’d be walking into a clubhouse with lots of veteran pitching experience. That catcher would have roughly two months to mesh with everyone before the postseason began.

In the past, the Yankees have used their Trajekt pitching machine to get catchers up to speed from a receiving standpoint. The machine simulates how a pitcher’s arsenal looks with their specific profile. But the Yankees believe nothing is better than real experience. That’s why, before games, Sánchez has caught nearly every bullpen session from Yankees pitchers that he could.

“I feel like every passing day, Ali’s understanding and confidence of how we’re approaching the game-calling piece is better,” Swanson said. “Even guys that have been here a while, we’re constantly learning new information. There’s so much data available. We’re continuing to find new ways to try to leverage it and make it actionable, beyond just the raw results you see on a certain pitch type.”

Although the Yankees’ catchers have performed poorly offensively, they have done their jobs defensively. They rank in the top 10 in framing, blocking and fielding run value. They’ve also helped guide the pitching staff to the best ERA in MLB.

But for nearly the entire season, the Yankees have essentially played with an eight-man lineup. It might be good enough to survive in a weak American League, but they should try to upgrade the position if possible. Eliminating a key weakness before October could be the difference between winning a title and not.

That’s why it makes sense for the Yankees to consider trading for someone such as Jeffers, who remains close with Swanson.